24 Weeks and Counting
by ShurtugalSkulblaka
Summary: Larrissa had her whole world turned around when the first wave of the Rage Virus spread through Britain. She still fears a second wave, when her fears become true she teams up with an unlikely group to try to survive. She knows the odds are that they will not all make it, but even if she doesn't, she wants to at least make a difference for the other lives at risk.
1. Prologue 24 Weeks

**Here's my attempt at a 28 weeks later fanfic. Hope you like it I'm on the 2nd chapter and working on it between other fanfics**

"_Britain has had a mass outbreak of a disease known as the Rage Virus. Precautions are being taken to prevent the virus from jumping countries. U.S borders are being watched very tightly. NATO forces are being sent in to help with relief efforts for the survivors and to lock down the country. The infected are being hunted down and killed to try and stop the spread of the virus...All we can do now is hope that Britain will pull through this horror, our prayers are with them."_

The News report sent chills down my spine; my family had taken a trip to Britain a a week before I was to be deployed there. They wanted to see the country, now I was worried if they were even still alive and if they were infected. I hadn't heard from them since the epidemic had broken out. I was scared for them, for my always-loving parents and my twelve year old sister. They may never see me again. It made me sick.

_**24 Weeks and Counting**_

_**Chapter1- 24 Weeks**_

My family was dead. All three of them. I sat in the military cargo plane as it prepared to land on the Isle of Dogs, or also called District One. Their fates had been simple, my mother had been bitten and spread it to my sister. My dad hadn't been able to kill them and had been infected himself, they were killed a few weeks ago by military forces. I looked down at my camouflage cargo pants, pulling a recent family picture from one of the pockets. In the picture I stood next to my sister, she looked like my father, she had long blond hair, green eyes, and fair skin. I, on the other hand, look like my mother, caramel hair with natural blond highlights, light blue eyes and tan skin. We had gone to the park that day my sister and I close to the lens, laughing, and my parents in the behind us sharing a kiss. It wasn't hard to tell; I missed them. A _lot_. I had joined the U.S Army when I was twenty, moving into the medical unit shortly after. My mother wasn't happy with my choice at first, but my father was fully-supportive, my mother wanted me to become a doctor not for the army, though. I always knew my mother didn't want me to be in the army because she never wanted to have me in constant danger. She voiced her concern multiple times, until, finally she became openly supportive of me. But that was four years ago things were completely-drastically-different now.

The plane slowly touched down on the island's tarmac, making its way to the gate.

"_Please be advised you and your belongings will all be checked by our doctors for any signs of disease or viruses before you are allowed to enter District One, thank you," _the Captain's voice came over the intercom of the plane.

I grabbed my small draw string, black bag of belongings from between my feet. I hadn't brought much, we weren't allowed to, I only brought a book, a water bottle -now half empty- and my sister's letter she wrote me on my first deployment. She had only been eight, but I cherished every memory I had of her over-seas, of home. I got up from my seat and followed the rest of the soldiers out of the plane swinging one of the bag's straps over my shoulder. We were funneled through the heavily-guarded gate to a small medical center in the airport, there was a soldier positioned with a rifle every few feet. When we arrived at the medical center I was taken by one of the nurses. My blood pressure was taken, my eyes checked for any signs of the Rage Virus, and my blood was taken and checked for any other diseases or viruses. I was cleared with a smile from the nurse and headed to the station where a train was taking the new arrivals into the city. I boarded the red train and waited for it to take off, pulling my hair up into a tight bun in the meantime. When the train took off I stared at the floor, not hearing the military personnel at the front telling us about the different rules of District One and what the district had for recreation or convenience. NATO had chosen our medical team to help with the reconstruction of Britain mainly to help find a cure for the virus. Some of the military's best doctors and nurses made up our unit I was proud to be chosen to help, but at the same time scared. I was scared of the epidemic happening again.

The door the my new room in the main building swung open. I stepped inside the spacious apartment-like room, looking around. It was pretty plain, there was a living room with a couch and coffee table, and a bedroom with a single bed a closet. There was a large window in the living room that over-looked the lower rooftops of other buildings surrounding the main building. The city was crowded with tall sky-scrapers on what seemed like every block it was a big change from my previous home in rural Kentucky before the military. I could spot snipers on some of the higher rooftops, no doubt watching the river for escapees or worse: survivors. They had told us that the last of the infected had died months ago, but I still didn't feel completely safe. I went into the bedroom and dropped my black bag on the foot of the bed next to the welcome package. I opened the box, inside was a fresh shirt and a few other necessities including my new I.D card and orders from base. I had already been debriefed but I had yet to receive orders until now. The letter told me to report to the medical level at 08:00 tomorrow morning to a Major Ross, Chief Medical Officer, for more specific orders. I'd heard many good things about her and surprisingly nothing bad she was very respected. She had been looking, as had most of the doctors, to find a cure for the virus, but she had worked harder than most. I went down to the cafeteria for dinner before heading back up to my room to shower. The cool water felt good, washing away my troubles for even a second was a relief. Darkness had swallowed the city when I got out of the shower, before I turned on the lights I went over and pulled the curtains over the large window in my bedroom. I flipped on the florescent lights, putting on sweat pants and a loose shirt to sleep in. It was already 22:45 and I figured I would have a long day tomorrow. I would have a long day every day, I obviously wasn't deployed to Britain before the outbreak, so I was put on leave for a few weeks before coming here. It wasn't hard to fall back into a lifestyle I'd been subjected to for years, but it wasn't easy either. Tomorrow, my whole life would change, for better or for worse I had no clue yet.

**Well, there it is for now. I would really appreciate reviews to tell me how I did, but try to be as kind as possible since this just a mini prologue and the first chapter...I haven't got into the kick of it yet. I do accept constructive criticism **


	2. 28 Weeks

**Alright I forgot to upload this after I finished which was only a day ago. Here you go and hope you enjoy even if the story is moving a little slow right now**

_**Chapter2- 28 Weeks**_

There was controversy today. Two _children_ had been brought into District One, the first children to inhabit Britain since the outbreak. Scarlett -what Major Ross preferred to be called by her co workers- didn't approve of the lack of knowledge she had on this. No one had told her children were being brought in and she was pretty upset, she voiced it quite loudly. However, when I accompanied her to check the new arrivals she had taken the youngest of the two, a little boy about twelve, to check herself. The little boy reminded me of my sister, his age mainly, but also how children his age acted. Scarlett called me over to look at results.

"Hey, I think you need to see this," she said.

I came over to look at the images of the boy's eyes.

"His eyes are different colors," I observed.

"One green and one brown, any resting iris variation is usually hereditary. Do one of your parents have the same?" Scarlett asked the little boy.

"My mother, she did," he said, his accent British.

I walked over to his sister, who looked like him as well, mid-length blond hair, but with both blue eyes. She was smiling at her brother. One of the tell-tale signs of the Rage Virus was different colored irises, always the normal color and a brown eye. The eye that was brown was also ringed with blood in the corner, like it was blood-shot, but more prominent. The boy did not have this. Both of the children were cleared shortly and sent on the train going into the city. The rest of the morning was spent clearing the new arrivals and as always nothing serious was discovered.

"Scarlett, what are we going to do with _kids_? We don't even know protocol for them, they need certain rules, different punishment..." I started.

"That's exactly why I was surprised I wasn't told," Scarlett said as we left the airport. "I'm going to have some words with base tonight, hopefully they'll give me some answers."

"I'm afraid," I admitted.

"Of what?" Scarlett asked.

"Of it coming back."

For the rest of the day I spent my time in the labs working with some of the other medical staff. Though there was no major virus anymore, people still got sick from colds and such. Due to the close nature of the more than 15,000 residents anything not treated fast enough could spread rapidly through the district. That was one problem we want to avoid, it would just cause unwanted panic on top of everything else. When I was leaving the labs Scarlett caught me, walking over to me.

"They're Don Harris' kids," she said.

"What?"

"The kids, from this morning, they're Don's kids," Scarlett said.

Don Harris was pretty well-known to most everyone, he was the section officer who kept the water and electricity running.

"Really? Well, that doesn't make anything easier, but at least they'll learn the rules quickly."

"I hope so. They seem like really good kids, Andy especially, but you're right it won't make anything easier, trying to make protocol and everything, I mean. I'm on my way to talk to base right now so I have to go, I'll get in touch with you later to tell you what they say."

"Okay, good luck," I said to her.

"Thanks, I'll need it," she replied walking off toward base.

Most of the time the tactical and the medical sides of the army didn't see eye to eye. Each side had trouble understanding the other, and when the Rage Virus was concerned it was worse when it really needed to be better.

It was getting late when I started my way back to the main housing building. I looked to the rooftops of the buildings, seeing the usual snipers' outlines in the darkness. The apartment had started feeling like home and it should it was my home now. Returning to the U.S if I survived this seemed like an impossibility, but I knew that was my true home it always would be. The house left to me by my parents was way to big for just me alone and it held too many memories, however it was where I was raised I would have trouble parting with it if I could at all. My thoughts carried me all the way to my room where I set down my things and went into the living room. I picked up the book I had been reading in the little time I had to myself at night and placed myself on the soft couch curling up in the corner between the back and the armrest. The book was a work of fiction, an interesting story of betrayal and revenge with secret agencies of justice and power. It wasn't a highly-published book, but it was just what I needed: something to take my mind off the real world.

Just when the book was reaching a gripping climax I noticed the time.

"Oh, shit!" I mumbled getting up from the couch.

It was well past twelve in the morning and way past the time I needed to be asleep so I could get through tomorrow without coffee. I threw the bookmark in the middle of the book, setting it back on the glass-topped coffee table before dashing into the bedroom. I took the fastest shower I'd ever taken -not helping me because it woke me up again- and got ready to go to bed. I took a last look at the family picture I'd brought with me in its new frame on my bedside stand. I fell asleep with a smile, hoping I would never have to endure a loss like that again. Little did I know, what came over the next sunrise would change everything.

**Pretty short chapters right now hopefully when I merge with the main story line it will pick up a bit. Anyway hope you enjoyed I will upload as soon as I'm done with chapter 3**


	3. Trouble Is Spelled KIDS

**A/N: School isn't as bad as I thought...yet, everyone keeps telling me it will get harder, I believe them. So here is chapter 3 i'm already someways into 4 so that should be coming up soon...enjoy...and I'm glad this is so far my longest chapter XP**

_**Chapter 3- Trouble Is Spelled K.I.D.S**_

The pre-dawn light was cast over everything when I stepped out of the housing building. I pulled my jacket closer around me, zipping it up all the way, it was freezing outside. The cold was definitely the one thing I had not gotten used to nor taken a liking to. I walked briskly to the medical center since I had volunteered to take the morning shift of looking over the small amount of patients in the care of the army doctors. It certainly wasn't a hard job, not compared to what I'd been put through in the army, the patients didn't need much care just simple things like medications and minor bandaging changes. Plus, I enjoyed my job I had always liked helping people and, on a few occasions, animals; it brought joy to me when I could help relieve someone's physical suffering even if their mental aspect needed much more work. Often times my patients' physical wounds would heal, but they would carry the mental ones for the rest of their lives. This was the part of my job that tore me to the core. I could try as hard as my small understanding of psychology would allow to try to ease some of their mental suffering as well, in some patients I saw that it sometimes helped a little, however I knew I could never truly _help_ most of them. I pulled my access card out of my jacket pocket and held it in front of the scanner to the side doors of the center, the light changed green and the door popped open. I hung the card around my neck by its lanyard and went inside.

Quiet, cold, and semi-darkness covered the medical center due to the lack of sun in the windows. That would soon change as the the sun was about to rise, a gray shade filled the sky before the first rays peaked over the horizon. I used to love this time of morning when even the birds were asleep and it seemed the whole world was waiting for the warmth to spread over the Earth. That was before the silence had become a whole new meaning, before the the silence had become the meaning of the end of your cover from the infected. I flipped on the lights in the center, shrouding it in florescent light that came from the long bulbs on the ceiling. I picked up a clipboard with the patients' information from the main desk and started making the normal rounds.

I was done in a little less than two hours having visited, treated and talked to all the patients. By now the sun had risen and was casting light into the center. It was an overcast day which was pretty normal these days, the sun usually didn't break through the clouds until around noon and even then there were patchy clouds. I missed the fresh, warm air of Kentucky where the sun shone brightly in the summer with only the occasional afternoon shower. On the hottest days my sister and I would go swimming in the large pond only a small trail ride on horseback from our house. There was a dock built out a quarter of the way to the center, there, I would grab up my sister and running down the dock throwing her in at the end then jumping in myself. Sometimes, we would ride up bareback and ride our horses into the water up to their backs. When we were done we would get the horses to stand fetlock-deep at the pond's edge, count down from five together, and then race all the way back to the house. Our mother would scold us about cantering in the water before throwing the horses into a gallop, which we knew did not do any harm. The both of us would laugh together as we mucked stalls for punishment, but to us it wasn't really punishment. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing out the memory and the sneaking tears. If I thought about my life before all of _this _I would surely lose it and here was _not_ a place to lose it. I focused on organizing files to keep my mind off things while I waited on the next person to take over the shift before everyone else arrived.

I had soon been relieved of my shift and was sitting in the cafeteria when I noticed something odd. A group of soldiers were leaving the safety zone and going across the river which was forbidden for citizens,period, and for personnel without direct orders. Since I had arrived I had seen no one cross the river going either way. Whatever it was that they were doing, going across, it had to be important, for them to risk infection and their lives by leaving the safety zone. I watched to soldiers until they disappeared around a deserted street corner. The rest of the day the soldiers leaving nagged at the back of my mind, giving me a constant reminder of what remained beyond the river. While no infected still lived, the last one had died over six months ago, there were still wild dogs and other ways to get the virus. The bottom line was: crossing the river was forbidden for a _reason_, for safety. The fact that someone could still get the virus just by sneaking out, coming up on a dog or something, and then starting the whole horrible thing over again scared me. Scarlett had told me after her meeting with base that they clearly were not afraid of it coming back. She said their go-to reflex would be to initiate Code Red which would not do a damn thing if everything got out of control. It scared me how little they _cared_, sure they cared a _little_, but they were arrogant because in their minds the virus would never happen again. Scarlett and I knew better, we knew the medical probabilities we knew that it _could_ come back. It was a long shot, but it could. If and when the virus came back we would all be screwed.

I roamed District One for the rest of the day since I was not due to go back to work until tomorrow morning. A lot of people on their mid-day errands were walking hastily by me as I walked at a steady pace. I figured I had done a whole lot of rushing in my life and, since District One was supposed to be a fresh start, I would try to relax and enjoy it for as long as it lasted. When I was walking back to the housing building a black helicopter flew across the river to where the soldiers had gone earlier. Whatever was going on over there had to be serious now, I didn't even want to think of the possibilities. I went up to my apartment as the sun was beginning to set, there really was nothing to do in District One after hours, nothing that I normally enjoyed anyway. I picked up my book that was halfway finished. I sat down on the couch with it, staring at it for a little before jumping back in the gripping plot.

_ You spend your nights with your nose buried in a book and you wonder why you've never dated anyone_. My friend's words and following innocent laugh rang through my head once my head strayed from the book. I checked the digital clock on the kitchen; the blue glowing numbers and letters read 8:00pm. I had been reading for a straight hour and not even noticed.

_Well, I guess she was right, _I thought getting up from the couch and setting the book on the table.

"Fresh start," I reminded myself.

I picked up my jacket from the back of a chair and headed out the door. I took the eighteen floors of stairs down to the ground level, flashing my I.D at the soldiers as I left the building. I headed down to the part of District One I walked by earlier today, but had never been to it before then. What was down here was the pride and joy of most of District One residents: the pub.

I had been to few pubs in my lifetime, not really enjoying the night life at all. This one was no different from the ones in Kentucky towns' that I'd been to. People chatted loudly in the dimly lit building, trying to talk over everyone else to their friends right in front of them. The smells of greasy food and varying alcohol filled the air, attacking my senses from all fronts. I went up to the bar, ordering a drink before standing awkwardly in the corner away from the crowd. Besides Scarlett and some of the army personnel I really had no friends in District One, with my job I had no time for stuff like that. I knew eventually I'd regret it, but right now my job was the most important thing. It wasn't that I was poor or anything like that, my parents had left me plenty of money, it was more the fact that I _needed_ this to keep my mind off things. I guess that's what I was doing now; washing away my troubles. I was almost done with my second drink when I spotted a familiar face among the large crowd at the back of the pub. For the first time I noticed the guards at the doors and inside the joint, I guessed because it was after hours, as I made my way through the people to the back. I walked up to the large, dark-skinned man in a uniform.

"Flynn?" I asked when I got close enough for him to hear.

"Lily, hey, what's up? Haven't seen you since training," he said clasping hands with me.

"It's been a long time," I agreed with a smile.

I could tell he'd ha a few more drinks than I had, but we went way back, like he'd said, to training. We had hung out a lot at base then and become friends before being deployed to different areas.

"What're you here for?" he asked.

"Medical staff, trying to keep this place from becoming another hell on Earth. You still flying?"

"Yeah, still flying high, choppers."

"Oh, was that you earlier? In the fiasco across the river or whatever it was?"

"Just a few puppies that slipped the gate, we got 'em back, plus one."

"'Puppies'? That doesn't sound like you."

"Doyle named 'em to base, just a few kids."

My mind flashed back, there were only two kids in the whole country and I knew that Scarlett and I had been wrong. They had not learned the rules, apparently, as quickly as we thought. But they were kids, that was what Scarlett had tried to tell base, they would do absolutely stupid things and hopefully learn from those things. Here, however, was not the place to do stupid things and learn from them, this place was a serious danger if rules were broken.

"Doyle's here too?" I realized suddenly.

"Sure is, bored as hell," Flynn replied with a laugh.

I laughed too, if we weren't in the heat of combat Doyle would surely be bored out of his mind.

"Not shooting innocent civilians is he?"

"Not yet," Flynn replied somewhat jokingly.

"Shouldn't he be here with you?" I asked.

"No, he's got the night watch, likes scaring the hell out of me when he gets bored. Can't sleep with him walking the rooftops," Flynn said.

I considered his words for a moment before setting my empty glass on the counter. The crowd had thinned out since I had first walked in, but was still considerably large.

"I gotta get going, Flynn, but I'll see you later," I said smiling at him again before heading out.

"See you later, Lily!" he called as I exited the pub.

I returned back to my apartment just as the clock flipped to 10:00. I had actually enjoyed a night out, maybe I would start doing it more. It felt good to get out and be apart of a social climate rather than staying up here by myself every night. District One _was_ a fresh start because two years ago that thought would have been extremely alien to me. I was glad I had seen Flynn tonight, it brought back good memories of the years I had enjoyed so long ago. The fact that _Doyle_ was here blew my mind; the odds of he, Flynn and I being in the same country let alone the same district were slim, but here we were. I locked the apartment door and headed into my room. Tomorrow I would find Doyle, hoping Flynn wouldn't remember to tell him about me. I wanted to see his reaction because I knew it would be the same as mine.

The next morning I found Scarlett and learned just what had gone down yesterday. She told me that Tammy and Andy, Don's kids, had gone across the river to their old house. They had left the safety zone, disobeying the rules, and were now being kept in quarantine until they were checked out for any signs of the virus. The most interesting part of the story she had told me was that the army had brought back a survivor. The survivor was the kids' mother and had previously been thought to be dead during the outbreak, but had somehow managed to stay alive. She was being held at the medical center until Scarlett could personally attend to her. I was to help her check blood samples tonight at the lab while General Stone looked in on us to make sure there was no threat to the safety of the District. That afternoon, after I had finished my shift, I headed to the building adjacent to my housing building. Showing my I.D to the soldiers by the door I walked up the many flights of stairs that eventually ended at the roof. I stepped out on to the flat roof knowing full well that there were at least four snipers with their sights on me. I walked over to one of the soldiers that had his rifle aimed at the housing building across the street, looking through the scope.

"You know, stalking people is a misuse of a weapon," I stated loudly so I could be heard over the wind.

The soldier turned, smiling at me.

"Well, it gets kind of boring up here, have to find _some_ way to entertain myself," he said.

He had dark brown hair and bright, blue-green eyes, but he didn't have to get close for me to know that.

"So I heard. You're a sergeant now?" I said more than asked, nodding to the chevron on his uniform.

"Yes. Shit, I don't have a clue what you would be," he said laughing at himself.

I smiled, handing him my I.D card from around my neck.

"'Private First Class Larrissa Caine'," he read off the card then handing it back. "Thought I'd never see that name again."

"Sergeant Doyle, didn't think I'd ever _hear_ that name again," I said back to him.

I stood there, looking at him but not believing it. I laughed to myself, shaking my head. Seeing Doyle again was basically like seeing a ghost from my past.

"How'd you manage to get yourself into this hell hole?" Doyle asked.

"Medical team, apparently we were the best-equipped to handle the situation besides the ones that were already here. You?"

"They needed the best marksmen," he said shifting his sniper rifle at his side.

"You haven't changed," I smiled.

There we were staring at each other again, silence surrounding us. Apparently he was just as unbelieving as I was about seeing each other again. We had both been foolish at the training base many years ago, something that connected us there. Despite my words, Doyle had changed, for the better he seemed a little more responsible now and a little more..._mature _compared to last time.

"_Hey, Doyle, who's your lady-friend?"_ I heard the teasing voice come over his radio.

He took the earpiece from around his head and stuffed it inside his vest.

"Ignore them," he said smiling.

"I was planning to. I heard about your 'puppies' by the way. I thought those kids wouldn't cause any trouble but I guess I was wrong," I said.

"Flynn?" Doyle asked.

"He has a big mouth when he's drunk."

"Flynn doesn't get drunk."

"Well, I guess he was a little tipsy then. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but they picked up a survivor along with the kids. It was their mother, she somehow managed to stay alive and they brought her back."

"Why are you telling me this?" Doyle asked. "Are you afraid she could have the virus? If she did they wouldn't have brought her back."

"I know, but I'm just scared that it'll start all over again, somehow."

"You shouldn't be, but if it does, I've got you covered," he said lifting up his sniper.

I smiled, "I have to meet Medical Officer Lima soon, so I have to go. If you get too bored you know where to find me."

"Thanks," Doyle said.

As I walked down the stairs to exit the building, I smiled to what seemed like nothing but the fact of Doyle having my back. I had seen him shoot like an expert for years, so him saying that made me feel safer. I knew, though, that if the virus started here again even an army of snipers couldn't stop it.

I slowly made my way to a secluded part of the district, knowing I had about thirty minutes before I should start heading to the medical center. I sat in the park-like area on a wooden bench doing nothing but sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet. The only sound I could hear was the soft birdsong coming from the trees, the sweet innocence filled my ears and my mind. The tall, green trees reached for the little sunlight that had managed to filter through the clouds. I allowed myself a giant breath of the fresh air before closing my eyes. It felt like I was back home again; that point before a big storm where the sunlight was scarce and the air became chilled. I felt free for those few moments of pure serenity where I was undisturbed by my normal troubles that clouded my mind like a smog. I let my mind flash through the nineteen years I spent with my family in our small, two-story farm house. The white, mostly-wooden house had its wide front porch with a waist high railing and always smelled of a home cooked meal or dessert. The porch swing was where I spent a lot of my nights, reading or -when I was still in high school- talking softly to one of my boyfriends. None of them had held my attention or love for long, they had all ended up doing something stupid that drove me away, all except one. One had been true to me to the end, had held me and showed me what true love felt like. Had also showed me what true loss was like. Showed me how fast a car could turn from transportation to life taker. I never got over it, so I decided to embrace loss rather than letting it rule my life. That was when I decided to join the army, therefore landing myself here. I opened my eyes the partial sunlight still making me squint as my eyes adjusted. I noticed the time and decided it was time to start walking to the medical center. I took in one last look and feel of the green spot, and turned, walking away.

**A/N: Doyle finally fit into my story, thought it was about time to bring him in since obviously he's going to be a big part. :) The sooner the better in my POV. Anyway chapter 4 coming up as soon I as I can get it written. Hope you enjoyed it**


	4. Living Horrors

**A/N: Yaaay I managed another decent-sized chapter! Haha, anyway just finished this so as I promised here it is, enjoy**

_**Chapter 4- Living Horrors**_

I arrived at the medical center as the sun was just setting, casting an orange glow in the could-covered sky and bathing the streets in the shadows of the tall buildings. I had never been to this part of the center before, it was the labs that were in the basement. I scanned my I.D at the thick, metal door, it opened easily. I stepped inside and stopped.

"Scarlett!?" I called having no clue where to go.

"Over here, just follow the main path," Scarlett's faraway voice came back.

I looked ahead, seeing the "path" was carved by two rows of tables separated by wide aisle. I tried to avoid walking into any of the tables, but hit one in the semi-darkness of the lab.

"You okay?" Scarlett called.

"Fine, just having issues with coordination," I replied.

I heard Scarlett laugh quietly as I put the table behind me and continued walking. I rounded one of the corners to my right and saw Scarlett sitting at the end of the hall. I didn't see the General, meaning he probably wasn't here yet. I took a seat next behind the table to Scarlett, she was looking through a microscope at something.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a sample from Alice, the survivor," Scarlett said.

I sat with a microscope of my own beside Scarlett, we both looked into the microscopes. In seconds our heads came up from the scopes.

"Shit!" our reactions were simultaneous and the same.

The survivor had the virus, but somehow was not showing the typical symptoms besides eye color.

"How?" I asked.

"The General is not going to like this. I have no idea how. I had a feeling she had it when I saw the bite mark on her arm. She is very important, I do know that," Scarlett said.

She dropped her head into her hands and sat silently. She looked tired, like she hadn't slept in days, which meant either she had been working or worrying. I hoped it was her work that had been keeping her awake.

"Well, we can rule out a cure, since there is none that we know of. Could another disease or virus prevent someone from showing symptoms?" I asked.

"None. We did tests after the first outbreak, every test subject ended up getting the virus anyway," Scarlett said still looking at the ground.

"So, a natural immunity?" I suggested, it was the only idea I had.

Scarlett looked up, "Yes, that's possible, in that case she is very important, but she still has the virus."

"You mean she can infect people?"

"Yes, she can, she's a carrier. She isn't showing any symptoms, but the virus is in her."

My heart sank at Scarlett's words, it meant the end of Alice or the beginning of a new wave of the virus.

"What are we going to-" my words were cut off as the lab door opened.

The General walked down the hallway toward us seconds later.

"Private, Major," he acknowledged.

"General," Scarlett said.

"What have you got?" he asked.

Scarlett looked at me before taking the hardest part of this conversation.

"There's no question, sir, she has the virus, she's infected," Scarlett started.

"Why isn't she showing any symptoms?" General Stone asked.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied.

"Speculate."

I looked at Scarlett, telling her with my eyes she should have told him our ideas.

"We think she might have some sort of natural immunity...to the virus, a genetic abnormality," I said.

"But the virus is still in her blood and saliva, so, technically, she's not immune, she's a carrier," Scarlett finished.

"Are you saying she has the ability to infect other people?" the General asked.

"Yes, sir, absolutely," Scarlett said.

The General walked outside, Scarlett and I following after him, Scarlett frantically trying to stop him.

"If this woman has natural immunity her blood could contain a key to a vaccine even a cure!" Scarlett said.

The General walked away and Scarlett looked back to me.

"You're dismissed, please, stay safe," she called to me before running after the General.

I stood where I was for a second before I realized that the General would kill her no matter what Scarlett argued. Alice was a threat, a threat that could make my worst fears come true, while she could contain the key to a cure I couldn't say I disagreed with the General. I didn't want to go back to my room just yet, I felt I wasn't safe there, but I didn't know why. I started making my way toward the housing building through the darkness guided by the tall street lights. My paced quickened as I approached the building across from my housing building. I knew I would be watched since there were no guards there now, it was long past their shifts. I went to open the door, but the door didn't swing, it stayed; it was locked. I stepped back, delivering two harsh kicks into the space right under the lock and handle, the door burst open hitting the wall behind it. I wasted no time in starting to run up the many flights of stairs to the roof. I burst out of the roof access and ran across the top of it to the edge.

"What are you doing?" the words came slowly, smoothly to my right.

"She has it," I said knowing it was Doyle before his face came into the minimal light.

"What?" Doyle's response was mixed with confusion and shock.

"The survivor, she_ has_ _it. _She's infected," I repeated between hard breaths from running up the stairs.

"Wait, then why would they bring her back if she was a threat?"

"That's just it, we didn't know. She's a carrier, Doyle, she wasn't showing any signs of being infected. She has the virus in her blood and saliva, though, so she can still infect people."

"What is the General going to do about it?"

"He wants to kill her, but Scarlett wants her alive, her blood could mean a cure or vaccine for the virus. I understand the medical significance, I really do, but I do have to agree with the General, it isn't worth starting a wave of the virus all over again. God, it's all so screwed up," I said trying to hold back tears of stress.

"Hey, listen to me, it's gonna be fine, okay? Nothing like that is going to happen, you're going to be fine, we're all going to be fine," Doyle said.

"I've never heard you be so serious before," I said trying to laugh.

"Well, we change, don't we? I mean you certainly did," he said.

I smiled at him.

"Now get on home and get some rest and, please, stop worrying," Doyle said with a smile.

I turned to leave, but before I got less than ten feet away from Doyle the lights in the district started shutting off; all of them. The radio at my hip crackled on, those three words that I had feared most came over it.

"_Execute Code Red." _My worst horrors had finally managed come true.

I turned back to Doyle, panic rising through my body. He looked at me with an expression just as shocked as mine. He grabbed up his earpiece and spoke into it.

"Flynn, come in, Flynn, you hear that Code Red or am I losing my shit?" Doyle said crossing the roof toward me.

He grabbed my arm, pulling me with him, "You have to stay with me it's not safe down there."

"No, I can't, I have to be down there, I have to help," I argued.

"No, you won't help anyone by getting yourself killed," he shot back in concern.

"Doyle, please, let me go, my post is down there, helping civilians get to containment zones! I have to go!" I said pulling away from him. "I'm sorry, but I'll stay safe. I'll talk to you and tell you that I'm okay when I can."

"Larrissa!" he yelled after me as I ran back across the roof. "Larrissa!"

Adrenaline rushed through me as I ran back down the stairs, I hated lying to Doyle when he only wanted to protect me. I would have felt safer with him, but I had to get something. What I was about to do was downright stupid and dangerous, I could die, but it could also be very beneficial. I ran back to my housing building and up to my room, fumbling for a second with the key. I ran into my room gathering my vest and other body protectors from under my bed. The extra twenty to thirty pounds it added to me would be hard to carry for long, but it could end up saving my life. The last thing I grabbed was the picture of my family before I ran out of my room, closing the door behind me.

I ran out into the cold darkness of the night, I had no idea to _where_ I was running I just knew I needed to run. Suddenly, I was surrounded by a mass of running, screaming people as I tried to escape. I heard the snipers firing above and saw some of the people drop to the ground before realizing they were infected. I tripped over someone who had fallen, a non-infected person, and fell to the ground myself. At about the same time one of the infected ran up to us as we tried to regain our footing and run. I was face-to-face with the bloody mess of what remained of a human, knowing that if I was bitten I would rather shoot myself then let the virus take over me. The infected was about to attack me when I heard a shot fired and the blood of the infected flew up on my uniform as it collapsed to the ground. I turned to look for the sniper who had fired, but decided it was probably better to get out of this mess. I continued to run, searching for somewhere to hide, someway to get out. Then I saw a young man motioning beside a building, yelling at me to get over there. I started toward him, stopping beside a fallen soldier and picking up the assault rifle that lay a few feet away from his body. I threw the rifle over my back and ran toward the man. I slid into the building just as he shut the door behind me, boarding the windows back up. I stood up, taking in my surroundings, I was in the warehouse that was used to store the provisions. There were pallets of supplies stacked to the ceiling in rows that were spaced equally apart. I scanned in between the rows, seeing that I was not alone in this place, there were many other survivors huddled in between the rows of pallets. Some were consoling their loved ones or other survivors that wept continuously between the shots of the snipers' guns or the screaming of less fortunate people. My head was pounding and for once I could not think straight, maybe this had been in the making all along. Scarlett and I had noted the significant structural holes in protecting the district from another outbreak, and had both agreed on the possibility of another outbreak. It had only been a matter of time. _Time_. We had only a half an hour, maybe less, until stronger methods of containment were reached. I had to find Doyle, but going back out there was _not_ an option. I don't know why finding him was so important, I really should have been trying to find Scarlett, but somehow my thoughts were of him alone on the rooftop with no spotter. I forced myself to stop thinking. Thinking things, actually a matter of _over _thinking, would be dangerous in this situation; thinking took too much time and time was not on our side.

I walked around the warehouse looking for anyone I recognized. When I was about to reach the last row, I looked down the aisle and saw not one, but two, familiar faces.

"Scarlett!" I exclaimed.

"Lily! Oh, I thought you were..." Scarlett didn't finish.

"I know, when I heard it started at the medical center I was worried for you," I said.

The other familiar face sitting there was Tammy, Don's daughter, but something was wrong; I didn't see her little brother Andy with them.

"We have to find Andy!" Tammy yelled.

Scarlett grabbed her radio and started to speak into it with a shaking voice.

"All units, all units, this is Medical Commanding Officer Sierra Lima. Please be on the look out for a young boy, age twelve, name Andy, if he is located he must be immediately evacuated from the containment zone," Scarlett said.

I watched as Tammy ran into Scarlett's arms.

"We have to find Andy. We have to find him!" Tammy exclaimed.

"It's okay, it's okay, we're going to find him, I promise. I'm going to get him out of here, I'm going to get you both out of here. Trust me," Scarlett said pulling Tammy into a hug.

I sat down, resting my back on one of the pallets, all the running with my vest and extra gear had worn down all of my energy. Besides, I needed time to process what was going on, to let my numb mind take in what was going on around me.

I suddenly found myself fighting back tears, things were so screwed up! That was the understatement of my life for sure. I was scared, confused, and my mind was a jumbled mess of emotions and adrenaline. My body shook and my breaths were labored in fear and exhaustion as I leaned against the pallet. I gripped the hair above my forehead, my elbow resting on my knees and my head tucked down. What the hell were we going to do? We go outside we get shot by a stray or misplaced bullet or get attacked by infected, lose-lose situation. We make it across the river, out of the district, and we have a chance. We had to get out of the district, but just getting out of the city seemed impossible right now. I heard shouts of joy from Scarlett and Tammy, looking up shortly to see Andy -the little boy- standing there with a blood-soaked shirt, not his own I presumed. I blocked their excessive screaming and tried to think out the situation.

"This is madness," said a blond-haired, English guy in the building, the one who had signaled to me. "What's happening?"

"They're shooting everybody..." an older woman said softly.

My head lifted up, looking at them, knowing how horrible the situation had become just by those few words.

"Why?" asked the blond-haired guy.

"It makes no sense," another guy said.

"It makes perfect sense," I mumbled, getting up.

They looked at me, Scarlett came up beside me.

"It's Code Red," Scarlett said without emotion. "Step one, kill the infected."

"Step two, containment," I continued, looking at the shadows of people running like maniacs and hearing the staccato sniper fire.

"If containment fails, then step three: extermination," Scarlett said slowly. "Now they won't stop until everyone is dead."

The chilling words ran through me, I already knew what was happening, but saying and hearing it made it all the more worse.

"So what do we do?" the blond guy asked. "I mean I'm not sittin' around here to get 'exterminated' we've got to get out of here."

"If we take one step out of that door, if the infected don't get us, the snipers will," the other guy argued.

"Well, you don't have a choice my friend," a voice came from the darkness behind him.

I wheeled around to face the source, knowing that voice all too well. It lifted a worry off my shoulders as soon as I heard it.

"Right now it's dark out there, the snipers can see you through their night scopes, but at least you have some limited cover from the infected. But, you know, if you wanna wait 'till sun up, well, you're as good as dead," he said walking up to them.

I smiled as he came into the light, he made this situation a hell of a lot better.

"Who are you?" Scarlett asked challengingly.

"Sergeant Doyle," Doyle said with a slight pause between his rank and name, "delta, rooftop unit."

"What aren't you at your post?" Scarlett asked.

Doyle looked her over for a second, "Why aren't you?"

There was silence as the two looked at each other, I coughed breaking it akwardly.

"Okay, guys, do what you want, but, Imma get the fuck out of here," Doyle said walking away. "You comin?"

"Doyle, wait," I called, running to him.

He turned, facing me as I came up on him.

"Thank God, you're alive, I was worried about you. You shouldn't have left," Doyle said.

"Are you kidding? I was worried about _you_, and yes, I know I shouldn't have left, but..."

"But you needed to?" he finished looking at the body armor I wore.

"Yes, please, let me come with you, we have to get out of the district. We have to get across the river," I said.

"I know, and do you honestly think I'll tell you 'no'? Come on, we need to-" he stopped.

I turned to see the two guys, the old woman, the two kids and Scarlett behind me.

"Changed your minds? Didn't want to stay here and die?" Doyle asked sarcastically, shifting the rifle in his arms.

His question was met with silence as I looked back at him.

"Fine, let's go," he said walking to the back of the warehouse.

I followed Doyle, the others falling in behind me as we made our way to the door at the back. I took the rifle I had acquired from my back and held it to the side as we walked. I knew I would need it soon I was pretty sure we wouldn't get out of the district without confrontation from either military or the infected. I stopped as Doyle held up his hand in a signal for me to.

"Back up," he said.

I did as he said and took a few steps back, Doyle in front of me. With one movement he kicked open the door leading to a back alley. It was time for me to face my horrors in stead of hiding from them, whatever awaited us outside I would have to overcome, the safety of the group was priority now. Getting out of the district would soon be the least of our worries.

**A/N: Alright, so center-focus of the movie revealed, zombie attack yay. Stupid kids who should of listened to the rules, I was tempted to kill them off, but that would present a major plot hole and stuff I'd rather not get into. Anyway, hope you enjoyed chapter 5 might take a while so bear with me. :) ...as a reminder sorry for any grammar/spelling errors i usually type late at night and try to proof read but I still miss stuff**


	5. An Escape From Hell

**A/N: Sorry, people I completely forgot to upload this a week or so ago when I finished it, but good news is I'm almost done with 7 now lol. I will upload 6 sometime tomorrow. So for now enjoy. **

_**Chapter 5- An Escape From Hell**_

The door banged open against the side of the building, Doyle walking through and immediately looking around with his sniper aimed at the roofs. I was right behind him, covering his back down the other side of the alley the door had opened into. Doyle motioned for the rest of the group to follow him, I fell in behind him as we walked single file along the wall of the alley. Helicopters passed far overhead making me flinch as I walked at a faster pace to keep up with Doyle.

"There's less shooting," Scarlett said.

"Maybe they've got it under control," Tammy said.

I scoffed before Doyle had time to answer.

"No, less shooters," Doyle said.

Doyle stopped and turned to the kids, bending down to Andy's eye level, I watched curiously.

"Alright, listen," Doyle said to Andy. "I need you guys to look at me and only me, okay?"

The kids nodded furiously as Doyle continued.

"You run when I run, be my shadow, that's it, alright got it?" Doyle asked.

The kids nodded again and Doyle stood back up, he pointed at Scarlett .

"Get around back. Watch her," he commanded one of the guy. "Private?"

"Yes?" I replied quickly.

"Mind covering me?" Doyle asked.

"Not at all...Sergeant."

I got behind the two kids, in the middle of the group, so I could cover Doyle. I lifted my rifle up, looking through the scope so I could see, the night was getting old and it was pitch black outside. We would be lucky if we even knew where we were going, all of the buildings' lights had been turned off so there was nothing to guide us out of the city.

"Ready?" Doyle asked. "Let's go."

We started moving again, our pace faster than before. We moved down the alley, skirting the side of a building. Our mad escape to get out of the city had begun.

Doyle, the two kids, and I stopped at the corner of the building. I aimed the rifle around, checking behind us as Doyle checked around the corner that lay ahead of us.

"We're clear," I said to Doyle.

He signaled for the rest of the group, who had been waiting at the previous corner, to come to us. They ran up behind me and stopped.

"Stay," Doyle commanded, heading around the corner.

The urge to go after him was too overwhelming, so I followed not so close behind him, covering him down the sidewalk. I aimed my rifle around, checking the rooftops for any remaining snipers. Right now those would be our enemies besides the infected, snipers meant silent death, taken out before you even had the slightest hint to their presence. We stopped in a space between two buildings halfway down the sidewalk. Doyle put his earpiece back in his ear, obviously having received radio contact.

"Flynn, go," he said motioning for the rest of the group to come down the sidewalk.

The of them moved quickly and silently, hugging the sides of the buildings. I wondered what had happened to Flynn, but apparently he was okay.

"Ground level, District One," Doyle replied.

He aimed his rifle up, guarding the entrance to the space.

"Copy that," Doyle replied.

I wondered what was being said on Flynn's side of the radio when Doyle reached down to close off the frequency to the earpiece. The rest of the group started quickly, silently down the sidewalk to us, crowding in the space with Doyle and I. Doyle leaned back against the wall.

"We already got some serious shit," he says to Flynn.

His composure became more serious as I guess Flynn's words reach him. I notice his eyes have widened and he's staring straight ahead.

"Doyle?" I ask wonderingly.

"Well, that's fast," Doyle said to Flynn.

His tone unnerved me, but what he said next made everything fall apart.

"How long we got?" he paused. "I'll be back in touch."

I looked worriedly at Doyle, still wondering what was going on but knowing whatever it was it was bad.

"Alright, look guys, we gotta run,okay?" Doyle said calmly. "Just stay low and stay fast, okay? After me, let's go."

We ran out of the space, going down the middle of the street instead of hugging the walls. I remained close to Doyle, but still behind Tammy and Andy, I had to protect them as well. I couldn't help but notice how Andy was running to try and catch up with Doyle, the kid seemed to have taken a liking to him. Blind fear drove me to run faster, to keep up, as I'm sure it did for everyone else. We were running with no reason in mind except for Doyle's words, which I would have trusted with my life.

As we rounded the corner a crazed frenzy broke out. I heard the sound of a gun going off, a sniper, before one of the people in our group fell to the ground.

"Sniper!" I yelled.

My cry was echoed frantically by Scarlett and Doyle as more shots were fired into our group.

"Back!" Doyle yelled repetitively.

"Get down!" Scarlett yelled. "Get back!"

We ran for cover around the corner of a building, the group was scattered trying to run in the crazed fire. I was almost to the building when a shot rang out and I fell to the ground, a sharp pain shooting up my leg.

"Lily!" I heard someone yell.

The pain was generating from my ankle which I saw was bloodied now, the bullet had grazed it enough to tear something, but not to break the bone. I got up, despite the pain, a half limped half ran to the building. Two more of our group had been shot and killed, who I had no idea, I knew the kids and Doyle were fine I saw them when I got behind the cover. I heard Scarlett scream after another shot was fired, but she made it behind the cover alive. I had pulled a roll of medical bandage from inside one of the pockets of my pants and was wrapping it tightly around my ankle when Scarlett came beside me.  
"It's okay, it's just a flesh wound,"she said.

Doyle handed her a roll of bandage which she accepted and started wrapping just above her knee.

"You okay?" I heard someone ask me.

I looked up to see that it was Doyle.

"Yeah, hurts like hell, but I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth.

I saw Doyle search in one of the pockets on his vest, he pulled out a small mirror and held it down by his side angling around the corner. I knew the tactic, he was trying to see where the sniper was. I heard more gunfire and the mirror was knocked from Doyle's hand into the road.

"Multiple shots one hit," Doyle mumbled, but then picked his voice up. "He's panicked and no marksman."

I looked over, Scarlett was groaning in pain as she tried to wrap the bandage tightly around her leg. Doyle stood up straight and then quickly looked around the corner, turning back just as fast when shots were fired at him.

"What's your name?" Doyle asked standing beside the only guy in the group, besides himself, left.

The frightened guy's voice quivered when he spoke, "Sam."

"Hey, Sam," Doyle said grabbing him on the shoulder and pulling Sam beside him. "You wanna get close? See that door."

I looked where Doyle was pointing, there was a door far down the road we had been running on, where the sniper was shooting.

"I need you to run, as fast as you can, in a zigzag, like this,okay?" Doyle explained showing Sam a zigzag pattern with his hand. "And don't stop for anything, alright?"

"You want me to be bait?" Sam said.

His almost whining tone made me want to run out there myself.

"No, no, look, he's gonna take shots at you, alright? But he's gonna miss, alright, he's going to expose his position, means I get a shot at him. _I won't miss_," Doyle said trying to comfort him, looking Sam in the eyes.

I knew he wouldn't do it, no matter how convincing Doyle was, he didn't trust Doyle like I did. I knew Doyle's words were true, he wouldn't miss.

"You're out of your mind," Sam said frightened. "There's no way I'm going out there."

Doyle got in Sam's face, I knew he was getting as annoyed as I was.

"Two minutes. We're all gonna die...you want that?" Doyle said harshly.

I heard screams from Tammy and Scarlett, they were yelling Andy's name before I even realized he had run from behind the building. Andy did exactly as Doyle had told Sam to do, running in an unpredictable zigzag to the door.

"Andy!" I yelled, and unlike the others, ran after him.

I heard the sniper shooting at us, but like Doyle said he was missing, by a lot. A few of the shots, though, I saw hitting near Andy's feet as he ran. Only when we were halfway to the door did I remember how injured I was, that my running was slower because of it, how much of a target I was. I heard return fire, a few shots one after the other and then a pause. With the next shot that was fired, the sniper stopped shooting: Doyle had found his chance. I stopped running after that, the pain was overwhelming, and, quite frankly, I had no idea what was going through my head for me to run when I knew I couldn't.

My head was spinning, pain was shooting like daggers through my ankle and I could hardly stand up. Lights danced before my eyes and I stumbled almost falling. Before I could hit the ground someone had my arm over their shoulders and was supporting me; I wasn't surprised to see it was Doyle.

"Hey...hey, careful," he said gently. "Are you okay?"

Another wave of pain hit me, "I'm fine."

Even I didn't believe myself.

"No you're not, you're hurt. Why did you run after him?" Doyle insisted.

"I-I don't know, I guess I thought I should protect him."

I stood up straight with Doyle's help, the pain shooting through me again.

"Can you walk?" he asked me.

"I think so," I said trying to walk with Doyle supporting my injured side.

I couldn't, I took one step and almost fell with even the little weight I was putting on my left ankle. I would have fallen if Doyle hadn't been supporting basically that whole side of my body.

"Shit," Doyle mumbled.

"I swear, I can walk on it, just...just not right now because I ran on it," I really was telling the truth this time.

"Sit down for a minute," he told me.

"We don't have a minute," came my swift reply.

"You're so stubborn," he said in defeat.

"Learned it from the best."

"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?"

I laughed picking up my foot from the ground and pointing and flexing it. The pain was already starting to subside and at least when I tried to walk again with Doyle I didn't almost fall.

"Come on, slowly," he said softly to me.

We started to slowly make our way to where Andy had stopped behind a wall for cover.

"Good work, kid," Doyle said.

The rest of the group ran behind us, I knew Doyle needed to run too and my self as well.

"I have to, Doyle, I have to run, we have to get out," I said.

"You're going to make it worse," he said.

"It's really not going to matter when we all die, is it? We have to go," I said. "I'll only slow you down and you need to help Scarlett."

"It's not that far."

I didn't know if he was trying to comfort me or himself. Doyle left me reluctantly and ran after Scarlett, supporting her as he did me. I took a giant breath and started to run, biting back the pain that was starting again.

The ground started to turn to sand as we came up to a large fence with barbed wire at the top by the river. Doyle managed to cut away a section of the wire, climbing on top of the fence as the rest of us caught up. One by one, he helped each person in our group up and over the fence. When he got to me I contemplated how I was going to do this. I got to the top, grabbing his hand, and he steadied me before telling me to jump. I jumped off the fence with my good leg forward, letting gravity take me to the ground. I could feel blood on the palms of my hands where I had put them down in the sand when I fell. I heard Doyle yell at Scarlett to jump, she jumped, falling behind me. I got up slowly as planes streaked quickly over-head I knew how little time we had left. I saw Doyle look at them before jumping off the fence himself. I helped Scarlett up and we both started to run, limping horribly as we did so. Doyle soon came up behind us and helped Scarlett, giving me a side glance that told me he thought he should be helping me as well. I kept running, my ankle was numb in pain by now which made it easier to run. We ran to a tunnel leading under the river, the only way to get to the other side without using the bridge.

"Go, we're safe under the river!" Doyle yelled to the group in front of him.

We started heading down the concrete, spiraling stairs to the tunnel. I was in back of the group, barely in front of Doyle. As we were running down the tunnel the initial shock-wave tripped me up and I almost fell. I heard the booming right before it and knew what was happening, base was firebombing the city, they _had_ lost control. We stopped halfway down the tunnel taking the chance to rest for even a few minutes. I leaned against the cool stone wall of the tunnel, taking my weight off of my injured ankle. A minute later the booming sound of the firebombs being dropped echoed dully down the tunnel. I looked back toward the entrance when I heard the sizzling of fire that sounded all too close. I saw a red-yellow glow at the end of the tunnel before feeling a heat wave blast down toward us. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.

"Go, go, go!" Doyle yelled frantically turning with Scarlett and heading the rest of the way down the tunnel.

I turned as well, running faster than ever, adrenaline making my injury seem non-existent. We all ran practically together, but I noticed Doyle and Scarlett were falling behind. The flames were roaring down the tunnel at our heels I could feel the horrible heat at my back. We started up the stairs one after the other and what worried me most was when I turned the spiral I lost sight of Doyle and Scarlett. We regrouped at the exit of the tunnel, running together again, but Doyle was still behind me.

"Run, run!" I heard him yell.

We got several yards from the entrance when it exploded, glass shattered and stones were blasted away from the tunnel. The ground shook violently, I lost my balance, flailing my arms in an attempt to right myself. It was no use, the blast sent every single one of us to the ground with the flames shooting high into the pitch-black sky.

**A/N: Not gonna say much because its late, but I will say I have decided to expand this fanfic into events _after_ the ones in the movie and continue it in my own way because I'm realizing how short this will end up being since at only chapter 7 I'm almost done with the section of the movie I am using (that is...taking off the few minutes in the very beginning and a lot off at the end) So, I'm estimating only 8 or 9(if I go with a really short one) chapters with the actual movie being used. That's all for now so hope you enjoyed and again sorry for the wait.**


	6. Not Out of Trouble

**A/N: My apologies, I got so caught up in my piles of homework I forgot to upload this like promised last night :( Wow, I can't believe I'm almost past the movie portion of my fanfic. Anyway, here you are chapter 6 :) enjoy**

_**Chapter 6- Not Out of Trouble**_

The ground was colder than the night air, I laid on it, my ankle throbbing again and my head foggy. When I fell from the blast, my head hit the hard ground; I could feel the blood running down my ankle, head and hands. The flames were still burning into the sky, sending thick columns of black-gray smoke upwards. Everything in my body seemed to be hurting and my legs were shaking from the shock-wave of the blast. The first thought that came to my clouded mind was Doyle, he and Scarlett had still been behind us right before the explosion. I shifted painfully to look back behind me, I saw that Doyle was standing and helping Scarlett off of the ground. He had his rifle slug over his shoulder using his other to support Scarlett. I tried to get up, but the pain prevented me from doing too much so I remained on the ground. Doyle walked over to me, handing Scarlett off to the two kids first, and knelt down beside me.

"Here, let me help," he said reaching down to me.

I let him put my arm around his shoulders, lifting me halfway up.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and let him help me up off the ground, slowly, as to not aggravate my ankle even more.

"Thanks," I said with a shaky smile.

"I'm not leaving you to walk by yourself, if that's what you're thinking," Doyle said.

I was about to argue again with him, but right before I did sharp pain shot through my leg. I inhaled sharply and would have fallen if Doyle hadn't been at my side.

"I guess you're right," I gave in.

Doyle smiled, "Of course I am."

I scoffed at his fake-egotistical remark, shifting my arm around his shoulders so I could support most of my own weight on my good leg. I stood up straight finding that it wasn't too painful, but I knew my right leg was going to be horribly sore when today was over with. That is: if we got through today alive.

In only a few minutes our noticeably smaller group of Scarlett, the two kids, Sam, Doyle, and me started to walk. The kids, Scarlett, and Sam walked a little ahead of Doyle and myself who were moving slower. The pain was still sharp, but I didn't feel as if I was going to pass out which was an improvement. I brought my previously hanging head up to look at the road ahead of us.

"How the hell did this all happen?" I sighed, hope draining along with my strength.

Doyle shook his head, frowning, "Arrogance," he replied simply.

It was quiet, the low mumble of the group ahead of us didn't do much to fill the silence. I noticed Doyle's free arm was around my torso, helping support me even more and then I realized he really didn't think I was a burden. The sky was getting lighter turning from the pitch-black of night the lighter shade of blue-gray before dawn. The sun still hadn't come up by the time was started gaining some mileage away from the city traversing the vacant streets of London. The sheer emptiness made me uneasy even with one of the best marksman I've seen in my life at my side. I never liked empty places _before_ the virus outbreaks, the silence made me think and more so now that wasn't what I wanted. The slow pace of our walking took stress off of my ankle, which I welcomed gladly.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Greenwich Park," Doyle replied. "Flynn's going to pick us up there."  
"I know about the park, thank God it's not too far, and will he be able to take all of us?"

"He better be," Doyle said.

I knew from experience, Doyle would go against orders if it meant doing the right thing. He wasn't one to do things mechanically without asking questions he would contemplate options and consequences. It had gotten him into some trouble in the past, but I never thought he had done anything truly wrong in those incidents. We walked in silence for some time before coming to a long, white bridge.

"What happened at base, why did you leave?" Doyle asked me suddenly, casting a side glance at me.

I smiled, completely caught off-guard by his question.

"I got deployed...to Afghanistan and then from there to Iraq. A few months after Iraq I was put on leave for a while until I got orders to go to Britain, that never happened of course," I answered keeping pace with Doyle.

"They must have liked you, I didn't get deployed to Iraq until months after you left," Doyle said. "The lack of things to shoot at, the lack of the heat of battle, it was killing me."

I scoffed, "Of course it was."

Silence dominated once more, and I watched the kids ahead of us link hands for a moment. I could only imagine how hard all of this was for them for both of their parents to be gone. None of this could possibly make sense to them, maybe to Tammy, but to Andy this had to be foreign. Even I could hardly understand how humans could be so..._incompetent _and I had been around it all my life. I'll admit I wasn't always a people person I never liked group projects in high school, or in the short year I spent in college, and I usually preferred to talk to the teachers more than the students. When I went in the military, when my mother disapproved of it so much, that made me throw up a shield around my heart. I never got close to anyone which helped me focus more but always hurt me when I realized I had no one to talk to. Then Doyle and Flynn had come into my life and changed everything. That shield had dissolved, although slowly, it soon was gone before I realized it. I started to like people more, got closer to my units when I was deployed, even though I had been pulled from the very two that made it possible for me. When my family had been killed that shield had immediately gone back up and was still there.

"Larrissa?" Doyle's voice jarred me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"We need to stop somewhere, for you and Scarlett to rest," he suggested, dropping his voice.

I dropped mine to his level, almost a whisper, so as not to alert the kids, "Don't you think that _some_ infected made it out of the district? They'll be on our tails with that insistent running of theirs, they never get tired. We don't have the leniency."

"You _are_ right, but you both need to sit, even for a few minutes..."

I tried to argue, but he cut me short.

"Don't say I'm wrong, you know you need to, you're just not going to admit it," he paused, "as usual."

I smiled, "Fine, but only for a few minutes."

Doyle's eyes held mine for a second before I went back to looking ahead of us.

We got off the bridge, going back to traversing more of the streets. I started watching the road signs as we passed them. When I started recognizing the names I looked for one in particular.

"There," I said to Doyle.

"If we turn now and walk down that road," I motioned with my head at the road to the right. "In a mile or so we will come up on a pretty large hotel. It's been decontaminated and searched, also, it has a large lobby with a few couches and chairs."

Doyle gave me a questioning look, "Do I want to know how you know all that?"

I chuckled, "Probably not."

"Alright, guys, down here, come on," Doyle called ahead.

We stopped, letting the rest of the group that was ahead of us come back to head down the new street. Doyle and I started to walk again when the others had gotten ahead.

"It's still on the way to the park, so, it won't put us back too much," I said.

"That's all you're worried about, isn't it?"

"I just don't want to be caught by infected, or worse," I countered.

"Hey, that's not gonna happen, okay? It's not going to happen..." Doyle said.

I nodded, not fully believing him, and I knew he could see it. We didn't talk the rest of the way down the road, the sun was just beginning to rise, shooting its rays through the dull-gray clouds.

A mile down the gray, abandoned road I spotted the faded sign that was hanging off the hinges of the balcony. I nodded at it to Doyle and he called out to the rest of the group.

"Stay here," he told me, gently sliding out of my arm so I stood on my own.

He lifted the rifle from his back and slowly approached the entrance to the vacant hotel. The rest of the group stayed back too as Doyle kicked in the door, immediately turning around to make sure there were no threats. I watched the dead seriousness of the situation come to his face, something that seemed to change him into a completely different person.

"Alright, it's clear!" I heard him call after a few minutes.

He walked out of the building back to where he left me, helping me walk to the doors. Everyone else followed us into the large, white-marble lobby that was adorned with the signs of attracting rich visitors. Doyle made sure the kids let Scarlett down on one of the sofas before he walked me over to another identical one. He slowly helped me down to it even though my ankle was hardly hurting except for a dull throb. I sat on the edge of the black sofa, Doyle standing over me.

"Lay down, you need to rest, I promise I won't let us stay long," he told me.

I didn't move, I just sat there staring past him until I felt his hands on my shoulders.

"Larrissa, lay down," he said slowly pushing my back to the sofa until I was laying with my back propped against the arm.

I smiled gratefully, "Thank you, my body is saying it's not safe, but my mind is screaming it's okay."

"I understand," Doyle said softly, sitting back up. "I'm gonna go check on Scarlett, I'll be right back."

As I stared after him when he got up that feeling I had possessed so long ago suddenly flared back up. I threw those feelings down mentally, but they came right back up. I could no longer deny it to myself; I was falling for him again.

I leaned forward to re-wrap my ankle with a new bandage. With the smaller presence of blood I could see that the wound was not as bad as I first thought, that gave me hope. I knew I could run if need be and not permanently damage my ankle, though, it would still cause me loads of pain. I inhaled sharply when I tightened the bandage, the pain flared for a second before dulling. I laid back on the small couch, trying to close my eyes to sleep, but when I did the flashes of the infected, of everyone getting shot by the snipers, hit me. The pain, not from my ankle, but from my mind, from the realization of this whole screwed up mess we were in, from the memory of my family. For the children I had promised to myself to be strong, now that was slowly falling apart. Tears slipped from my tightly shut eyes that were trying to ward off the memories. I felt the couch sink under weight by my legs, I quickly opened my eyes to see Doyle sitting there.

"How's Scarlett?" I asked in a feeble attempt to bring his focus away from me.

"She's fine. Lily, how are _you_?" he asked.

"Okay, my ankle feels better and-"

"Not your ankle, _you_," he repeated.

"Oh, well...I'm trying, Doyle, I really am, I want to be strong for the kids, but..." I ran my hand over my face, not willing to let out tears in front of him.

"Hey...why don't you get some rest?" he said softly.

I took a deep breath, lying back on the couch, and swallowed my emotions.

"I can't close my eyes, every time I do the memories of my family, the infected, those poor people, it's just too much. Sleep wouldn't be refuge, it would just be worse. Why don't you rest?" I suggested.

"Thanks, but I couldn't leave you to watch them, in case you want to sleep. You need it more than I do," he said.

"I'm not going to sleep, I don't _want _to sleep," I said looking around the familiar lobby.

Doyle looked around as well, no doubt trying to locate exits and possible hiding places for threats. I leaned back into the sofa finally enjoying the comfort of it.

"So, if you don't want do rest, would you mind talking?" I asked.

"No, not at all. What do you want to talk about?" Doyle asked leaning back against the couch.

This is how I usually saw him, calm and collected even when things seemed to be going to hell. He still retained an air of seriousness along with this, which made him seem even more calm.

"Why did you choose to come here?" I started.

"Like I said, I was bored, it seemed like a good idea at the time, low threat still things to shoot at, but I was wrong, I was so wrong," Doyle said looking at the ground. "Why did you come?"

I paused for a second, taken aback by his question.

"I...uh, well, I was set to be deployed to Britain and my family wanted to come a few weeks early to see London and enjoy the country..." I started choking on my own words as I said them. "Then the outbreak happened and...they..."

"I'm so sorry, Lily, I had no idea," Doyle said softly as I tears started to roll down my face.

I checked my emotions once more before continuing, "I came here because I wanted to make sure what happened to me- to prevent the virus from tearing families apart like it had mine. I wanted to make a difference."

"You have, you and Scarlett both, she said you were closer to a cure," Doyle said.

"She lied, we are no closer to a cure than when we first started, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we'll find a way...eventually."

"I hope you're right. So, do you have a family?" I asked.

"If you're talking about my biological family, then yes, they're back in the United States," Doyle said.

"A hot shot like you always were doesn't have a wife? That's surprising," I said with a smile.

"Are you suggesting something, Private?"

"No, Sergeant," I replied with a mock-devious smile.

I laughed at myself, before seriousness came back to my composure.

"You know, all of the years I've known you, I've never once heard a first name," I said to him after a long pause.

"Never? Not once?" he asked, taken by surprise.

I shook my head.

"Is there a reason for that?" I asked.

"Yeah, I don't prefer to be called by it," Doyle said.

"I understand, I promise I won't call you by it if if you don't want me to, I'm just curious."

"Will," he said. "My first name is Will."

I looked at him in confusion, "What's wrong with your name?"

"I was named after my grandfather, and...his name wasn't the best in the military, my parents, of course, didn't know I would go into the military, so after I got in I stopped using it."

"Well, I like it," I said. "Not that it would mean anything."

"Thank you."

"So, exactly how long were you spying on people's night lives for your own entertainment?" I asked.

Doyle laughed, "Not too long, but don't worry I was never able to see in your apartment, you always kept the blinds closed."

"Yeah, that's because when you spend a good part of your life on military bases being one of only a few women you learn some important precautions. Not that you ever did anything like that."

Doyle nodded with a smile.

Slowly, I started to drift off into unwanted sleep that seemed to engulf me. Before I could stop it I was asleep on the couch despite my many efforts to keep awake. As soon as I allowed my eyes to close, the nightmares ambushed my mind. I saw the faces of my family as I walked to them, but then I found myself running from what seemed like a hundred infected. I then found I was trapped by three never ending walls on all sides with the infected flanking me. They were on top of me when I was woken up from my nightmares.

"Larrissa...Larrissa!" a voice called out and someone shook me.

I snapped awake, noticing how hard I was breathing and how real that nightmare really had been to me. I leaned back against the couch trying to push away the memories as I saw Doyle looking at me with a worried expression.

"I see what you were talking about now," he said looking away.

"Ugly, isn't it?"

"Not more than expected, bad things happen to us all, especially us, you're surely not the only one with memories I'll promise you that," Doyle said.

"I did get something from that nightmare, though, an idea we haven't discussed before."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"What are we going to do when we lose the infected, where are we going to go?"

Doyle was silent next to me.

"See? I'm thinking we'll have to get out of Britain, maybe Europe entirely. We can't go back to base, but we can go across the ocean if we take refuge somewhere the virus hasn't reached. We go back to the U.S, warn them about the virus and work from there...I mean if we can get to America, we would have to show our IDs but it's worth a try and then-"

"You're rambling again..." Doyle said.

"Actually I'm just stating our options but-"

My words were promptly cut off when his lips touched mine, something that felt _right_ in this place where nothing ever was. I didn't pull away and, instead, enjoyed the moment of pure shock that came with the realization of what was happening, a very positive type of shock. His hand gently held the back of my neck as I put both arms around his. I was taken shortly aback to the days at the training base where many sunsets were spent similarly, when I had last seen Doyle this happy and this relaxed. The moment was over far too soon though when I realized how long we had stayed in the hotel, immobile. Doyle seemed to notice as well and pulled out of the passionate kiss.

"Are you done talking?" he asked.

"Yes, I believe I am," I replied with a guilty smile. "Though, not without saying we need to move."

"I agree," Doyle said getting up from the couch at the same time I rose.

I noted how Scarlett watched the two of us, knowing without a doubt she had seen what had transpired between us just now. I couldn't help but notice she did this with a slight jealous expression.

"C'mon, we need to move," Doyle said helping Scarlett up from the couch she sat on.

The kids and Sam got up as well, Andy with a moan of irritation of having to move once more. I knew the kids were just as exhausted as we were, but we had far more ground to cover with enemies on two fronts. I was oblivious to how close our situation would get to what had occurred in my nightmare, maybe it was not a nightmare, instead, it could have actually been a premonition.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed, Chapter 7 will be on its way shortly, as soon as I finish chapter 8 in fact. I am so glad for the supportive reviews I am receiving, I am happy you guys are enjoying my story. I'll upload 7 asap :)**


	7. The Best Way to Kill Zombies

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to all:) here is some reading to go with your turkey or what have you...I am well into chapter 9 and am very happy on how its turning out. Thanks for all the comments, as are always appreciated so any thoughts you have id love to hear them :P Anyway here it is-**

_**Chapter 7- The Best Way to Kill Zombies**_

The gray light of morning still dominated the skies when we left the hotel. Doyle and Scarlett walked in front now, with Sam and the kids following and me bringing up the rear. I was glad to be in the back with some sense of privacy to really think about what had just happened. It was so much like at the base, before I had been separated from Doyle and Flynn. My past with Doyle, especially, was that I had fallen for him before, maybe I never recovered from that fall, but I knew that I had loved him before. That's why it felt right -it always had- he had been there for me when I was just getting used to a completely new lifestyle of which intimidated me. He made things easier on me, speaking to me from experience and helping me forget about troubles I had left behind. After I had been deployed, without even getting a last good-bye to Doyle, it was as if my relationships with anyone else ever again were over. I never found anyone who knew me like he did which is why I turned to books to fill my little spare time. Now, he was back in my life, but in a time that I _truly_ needed him.

I was so into my thoughts I hardly noticed Andy falling back a few feet to walk beside me. I smiled at him when I did notice and he returned the gesture. I kept up my half-walk-half-limp pace as we rounded a street corner with a McDonald's golden arch on the sign. The slightly shy boy was still walking next to me not saying a word, he hadn't taken too much interest in me, only Doyle, so I wondered why all of a sudden he would decide to walk beside me. In seconds I knew the answer to my own question.

"You love him, don't you?" Andy asked me suddenly in a quiet voice.

I looked ahead at Doyle, whose back was to me.

"Why would you say that?" I thought I had made efforts to avoid the kids noticing.

"I see the way you look at him, it's the same way my mother used to look at Dad," he replied.

Doyle turned his head to look back at me, giving me a small wink before looking back ahead. I knew he was checking to make sure my ankle wasn't impairing my ability to walk fast, he would make sure I was safe.

"Then, yes, I do love him," I whispered to Andy in a playful way, "but you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay, I promise I won't," he replied.

I smiled at the little boy as he trotted up a few steps to go back to keeping pace with his sister. It pained me to see these two children pulled into a mess such as this at their young ages, Tammy a little less so than Andy, but for them to have seen so much suffering I knew they couldn't easily recover from it once this was over.

We rounded another street corner that led down another long road, but this one ended in an iron gate. I saw Doyle looking to both sides of the road, which was surrounded by trees, no doubt looking for any signs of the infected as we approached the gate. He handed Scarlett off to the two kids, grabbing his rifle with one hand while he opened the gate slowly with the other. He stood by the gate, still looking around, as the rest of us walked through, me being the last before Doyle to go through. He shut the gate behind him and walked beside me the rest of the way. The narrow passage behind the gate soon opened up into a vast field of tall, green grass and weeds for many miles in either direction. The ground was littered with a a few train cars and the chilling remains of an actual park; a full merry-go-round remained along with a few small swing sets and scattered lawn chairs all over the grass. The place had a sense that it was left very suddenly and that unnerved me. The two kids immediately ran for the swings.

"Stay close," Doyle ordered.

He was helping Scarlett again taking her over to the merry-go-round and sitting her down on the raised floor of it. Sam wandered off to the side of the structure, I soon lost sight of him. I sat down on the merry-go-round as well, but farther away from Scarlett, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. I stared ahead, only jumping when I heard the distant barking of dogs that I quickly brushed away as nothing. I saw Doyle walking around the other side of the merry-go-round with his rifle in his hands for no discernible reason. He came up behind me and then walked over toward Scarlett. I unwrapped the bandage from my ankle, propping my leg up on the ride so I could re-wrap it again. Walking had loosened it and I knew we would eventually have to run again because the infected couldn't be too far behind us by now, so I wanted the bandage to be tight to help support my weight when I ran.

"You look a little pale," I heard Scarlett say as she re-wrapped her own bandage.

"Blood makes me nauseous," Doyle replied.

I was too close not to hear their conversation, but I looked out over the fields while I listened.

"You never answered my question," Scarlett said.

In the corner of my eye I saw Doyle sit down next to her, rifle still in-hand.

"About why you left your post," Scarlett continued.

"I got that boy on my sights," Doyle said. "He's not a target anymore."

There was a long pause between them, but I hardly noticed because I was scanning the area, looking for any sign of the infected. One second with our guard down could mean the end, all we had to do was make it until Flynn contacted us again. After that, all that was left was to figure out where we were going to go to take refuge. A slight breeze started blowing, however, even through it I could hear Doyle's chilling words.

"It's all fucked," he said. "You hear it all over the radios, we're fucked."

There was another pause where I actually looked toward them and I could see that Doyle's devil-may-care attitude was waining, he looked worried.

"Anyway," he said trying to break the silence, "Why the hell are you here?"

"Their mother," Scarlett replied, "had very special blood, a natural kind-of immunity to the virus. And not all genetic traits are passed on, you know, they can skip a generation or vanish all together, but..."

"But they might have it," Doyle said more than asked.

"It's a possibility. So, their lives are far more valuable than mine...or yours."

"I got it."

Damned if I didn't want to personally go over and knock Scarlett clean out for that little line of hers. I noticed how this journey had changed her, and I did understand the kids lives were important, but without Doyle we would all be dead, including the kids. Next time, she could keep it to herself, if there was a next time.

Doyle stood up, replacing his earpiece as he moved away from the merry-go-round. I knew Flynn must have contacted him.

"Flynn, go," Doyle said.

When I knew that I was very attentive to Doyle's reactions to Flynn's words after a long pause, but he revealed nothing.

"Give me an ETA," Doyle said.

There was a short pause.

"Minutes?" Doyle asked in confusion.

In the second Flynn took to reply I saw Doyle's facial expression change to one of horrible shock. He jerked his head around to look over one of the hills rising in the field, that's when I knew something was wrong.

"Kids, come on!" he called, motioning for them to come back.

I quickly got up from where I was sitting and held the rifle I possessed in one of my hands.

"Doyle, what the hell is going on?" I asked, my tone shaking.

He dropped his voice very low as the kids ran up toward us, "You were right. They're coming...now."

Those six words sent shock-waves through me, jarring my senses to their full awareness and preparing me to run like hell, we would have to in order stay alive in the minutes that would follow. Once our group has reassembled closer together we ran through the dead grass toward the slight hill that rose in front of us. We didn't get too far before we saw figures at the top of the hill..tons of them, tons of infected. Doyle stopped, still helping Scarlett, and then turned back to us after looking at the infected a few hundred feet away.

"Get down," Doyle said, his voice quiet. "Down, down!"

The six of us dropped to the ground, laying flat so that the tall grass shrouded us. I admitted to myself that I was scared, which I usually never did because admitting that made me lose my senses. This time I wouldn't let that happen, too much was at stake. Doyle looked back at the rest of us, holding his finger against his lips in a silent order for us to stay quiet. He started to slowly crawl forward in the grass with his rifle in his hands, but stopped after a few inches.

Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air. I looked up to see the chopper angle down toward the grass, blowing the blades aside and leaving us exposed. The wind whipped violently around us, the sound deafening, but nevertheless I was glad Flynn was here even if the large military chopper drew attention to us. Flynn hovered the helicopter a few feet off the ground and Doyle ran up to the side of it. They yelled back and forth, but their words were lost in the whirring of the blades. All of a sudden Sam got up, screaming for them to get him out and running at the helicopter. He grabbed onto the skids of the chopper, which made Flynn go berserk, pulling the helicopter to the side trying to shake Sam off. I flattened myself against the ground as the helicopter spun wildly in the air. Flynn drove it back, away from us and toward the infected, now I _knew_ the infected would be after us. I put my rifle in both hands, making sure it was loaded and ready to be fired because I would need it very soon. Doyle stood next to me as we beheld the mass group of infected that were running right at us, and fast.

"Flynn, we're gonna fucking die down here, do something!" Doyle yelled into his earpiece.

Flynn angled the helicopter toward the group of infected, tipping the nose down so that the blades were close to the ground. I watched in awe and in shock as the blades tore into the infected, ripping a large portion of them apart. I didn't watch for very long, though, because soon Doyle grabbed my arm, pulling me up from the ground.

"Get up, get up! Run! Move it!" Doyle yelled to Scarlett and the kids.

Doyle quickly grabbed Scarlett and we started to run as if our lives depended on it, and they did. We ran through the tall grass, I could hear that some infected were behind us. The adrenaline that was going through me kept my ankle from hurting, so I put myself in front of the kids, hoping to guide them in the best way away from this mess.

"Don't look back! Keep going!" Doyle yelled.

I could hear the infected getting closer before Doyle even made it obvious. I looked back as he cursed and turned around to face the oncoming threat.

"Keep going!" he yelled lifting the rifle up to his shoulder.

I kept running, but was basically running backwards because I was looking back at Doyle. He shot the closest infected with the precise accuracy I'd always seen him possess. As fast as he had turned around he ran back after us, going to Scarlett to help her run, which was being slowed by her injury. We continued to run through the grass, still being chased by a number of infected. Our chances of escaping Britain alive were getting smaller and smaller with each step we took.

**I did love this part in the movie and my exact thought on the helicopter's second use was the title of the chapter minus the word genius. Thanks Flynn for that awesome scene XP and I am sad to say I am about to enter some serious couple days of straight-up homework so, sry but updates may not come until after the 27th sry again, but hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thats all folks! Have a good Thanksgiving!**


	8. Cataclysm

_**A/N: **_**On the eve of the end of the world (3 mins before 12am on the 21****st) , I deliver you the most fitting chapter XD i'm really kidding, I don't believe this stuff no offense to anyone. Well here you are**

_**Chapter 8- Cataclysm **_

Still running like hell, we were quickly coming up to another gate. I ran through it first, stopping a few feet past it and lifted my rifle up. Everyone else hit the ground as Doyle and I faced the remaining infected that were chasing us. I shot the first one, but before I could even aim at another Doyle had shot the other two. I had forgotten that behind that never-failing accuracy was deadly speed.

"Nice shooting," Doyle said.

I now saw that he was kneeling as well, and I replied with a wavering smile, replacing my rifle over my back.

"Flynn, come in. Flynn, goddammit, I know you can hear me! Fuck the Code Red, fuck the chain of command, I'm stuck out here and need an extraction goddammit! You better fucking be there because we will be," Doyle said angrily into his earpiece.

I had never seen him so angry before, and added that it was at Flynn made it even worse. I was breathing heavily, but my ankle wasn't hurting yet, I had a feeling once the adrenaline faded away I wouldn't be able to walk. Right now I was just focused on us getting out alive, we would still need Flynn for that.

"Hey, you okay?" Doyle asked Andy, helping him off the ground.

The boy nodded.

"Yeah? Bet you're tired?" Doyle said.

Andy nodded again.

"Yeah? Me too. Okay, I need you to help me, okay? Help me with your sister, you got that?"

He continued to nod.

I jumped as I heard the horrible screams of infected once more. I saw many more infected rounding the corner just before the gait

"Damn it don't they ever end!" I yelled in frustration.

"Come on, gotta go, gotta go," Doyle said getting up along with Andy.

"Go, go, go, go!" Doyle yelled to the rest of us.

I started running, Doyle helped Scarlett up once more while Tammy got up and ran with Andy at her side.

I ran like I had never run before, injured or not, there were tons of infected running after us with a speed that wasn't human. We were running down vacant streets again, narrowing the places we could escape or get away from the infected. As we rounded another corner I heard Doyle's gun fire again and turned my head to see Scarlett trying to run, but ending up in a sort of lope from her injury. My anxiety was out of control as we ran down the streets, Doyle had reconnected with Scarlett again and my focus shifted on protecting the children. Time seemed to slow around me as we came down a street littered with debris and a single abandoned car, it was a narrower one of the streets. I was so caught up in running I hardly noticed what was ahead of us down the street. I stopped dead in my tracks at the same time Scarlett yelled.

"Gas!" she yelled. "Get back! Its coming, get back!"

"Shit!" I hissed at the same time.

"Gas!" Doyle yelled at the kids.

The ominous, white billowing clouds of nerve gas seemed to be coming right at us, chasing us. Now I realized my nightmare's truthfulness, we were surrounded. The infected were behind us, the gas in front and walls blocking the sides. The kids ran past me back to where Doyle and Scarlett had likewise stopped I their tracks.

"Come on! Get in the car!" Doyle yelled, looking over his shoulder at the kids and me.

My head buzzed and my body wasn't listening to it, I couldn't do anything I needed to properly.

We all frantically pulled on the car's door handles, trying to open any of them quickly. The trunk was open and Doyle put Andy into it, closing the door once he was in. Tammy managed to open the driver's side door and climbed through it into the back seat beside Andy. Doyle and I were the last to get in, I climbed through the passenger's side into the backseat next to the window with Tammy next to me. Doyle climbed in the passenger's seat and closed the door behind him.

Just as he did the infected reached us, only seconds before the nerve gas did, however.

"Lock the doors!" I yelled.

I locked the door next to me, Andy locking the door across the car. Doyle and Scarlett did likewise before Doyle noticed something important.

"The vents, get the vents!" Doyle yelled.

He and Scarlett closed the air vents that were seeping gas through from outside. I took the collar of my black shirt and pulled it up around my nose and mouth. Everyone else in the car was doing the same, except for Doyle, who was trying to reach a piece of cloth on the dashboard. Finally he pulled his own shirt up over his mouth and nose. What happened next was complete terror, the whole group of infected were banging on the car trying to get in. I could hear their muffled noises as they scratched at the windows all around the car. Tammy was screaming in the back next to me, not helping the situation at all. The gas shrouded the car in a white-gray cloud of panic, the infected still kept banging on the car and covering the windows with blood. I flinched away from the window every time one of the infected hit it, trying to stay out of eyesight, not that they cared. In seconds only a few infected still remained to bang on the car, the rest had fallen victim to the nerve gas and were most likely on the ground dead. I finally breathed after the last of the infected slid off the car on the ground, but we certainly weren't out of the woods yet. Only then did Scarlett actually try to start the car, which was met with a resounding sputter of the engine.

"It won't start," Scarlett said.

"We're going to be fine, alright, just keep trying, keep trying," Doyle said.

He was the only reason I wasn't in a complete fit of panic right now. Scarlett again tried to start the car, but again it failed. She tried once more with the same result.

"Come on, keep trying," Doyle said.

"It won't start!" Scarlett said in a panicked voice.

I saw Doyle look up in the rear-view mirror and followed his gaze. Coming out of the cloud of gas were three shady figures that were soon followed by bursts of flames. Doyle looked back out of the rear window of the car, trying to get a better look at the figures.

"It won't start," Scarlett repeated again.

"Alright," Doyle said in a level voice, so level that it scared me. "Put your foot on the clutch."

Scarlett jammed her foot on the clutch.

"Alright, you pop the clutch when I tell you. You get them to the stadium," Doyle said.

"Doyle, don't you dare get out of the fucking car!" I cried out, tears starting to form I my eyes when I realized what he was thinking. "Please don't, we'll make it out, we will, just please..."

"Larrissa, I have to, okay? I'll be fine, _they're_ coming, we have to get out of here _now_," Doyle said looking back at me.

"No! Doyle, they'll.."

"Hey, it's going to be fine, okay? Okay?"

"No...please," I cried.

He leaned further back, pulling his shirt down off of his face for a second as he stopped my cries with a kiss, but the tears still flooded my eyes.

"Keep your head down," Doyle said to Andy and Tammy, pulling his shirt back over his mouth.

He sat back in the seat, situating his rifle beside him, looking over at Scarlett.

"I'll meet you there," Doyle said.

Time froze as Doyle opened the door and quickly got out, shutting the door behind him. I knew he had lied seconds after, seeing he had left his rifle in the seat, he wasn't planning on coming back. Enraged and panicking, I unlocked the door beside me and burst out of it just as Doyle went past it. I slammed the door shut once I was out.

"Lily! Get back in the car!" Doyle yelled.

"Not unless you do!" I cried back.

I took one step and everything fell apart.

Something grabbed my injured ankle, knocking me off my feet, slamming me down on the hard road. I gave a shrill scream when I looked back and saw it was one of the infected, still partially alive.

"Doyle!" I screamed as the infected dug its teeth into my ankle.

His eyes widened, taking his sidearm from the holster around his leg, he shot the infected twice, killing it. I pulled my ankle away, but I knew nothing would matter now, I was going to die or worse, become infected. I sobbed uncontrollably, choking on my tears when I saw that Doyle was standing there, looking at me with saddened eyes.

"Please," I pleaded softly. "Don't let me become one of them, don't let me kill people. Please, kill me."

Doyle's face wrinkled in a frown, his eyes were glazed over with tears, but he wasn't crying. He slowly shook his head, throwing the sidearm far away from both of us.

"I can't do that, Lily," he said. "I love you."

My strength was already sapping, so I knew I better admit it quickly, there was certainly no time for dramatic pauses.

"I love you, too."

He looked at me once more with a grim expression before quickly turning and starting to try to push-start the car. I laid on the ground, my head turned sideways so I could keep my eyes on Doyle. I felt horrible, begging for mercy, trying to take the cheaters way out, but then again, I only wanted him to stop me before I could harm innocent people. I breathed heavily as my mind started to get blurry, at the same time my thoughts started to become distant and did not seem like my own. I saw the bursts of fire getting closer and closer, making what remained of my thoughts focused on worrying over Doyle. I saw him cast one last glance over at me before I felt the tug of unconsciousness at my body, blacking out in seconds.

**Well, there it is, hope you enjoyed. The End.**

**I'm kidding,I'm kidding, XD don't worry chapter 9 is on the way...if the world doesn't end before I have a chance to write it haha, that would suck I hate not finishing my ideas lol. Anyway its coming soon guys thanks for reading**


	9. Coming Home

**I am so so so so so so so so (you get the point) sorry for this! I completely forgot I had a chapter before the one i've been working on! Besides that I have been _slammed_ with stupid homework for weeks on end X.X so here is the next chapter very long over-due**

_**Chapter 9- Coming Home**_

I walked through the familiar halls of my own home, the bright, summer sunlight beaming through the light curtains. I looked around, taking in the warm feeling I got whenever I stood in the living room that hadn't been in for the longest time. I breathed in the delicious smell of freshly-baked pastries my mother was so famous for. Upstairs I heard laughter, a young child's laughter, something that struck me harder than anything else here. Without a second thought I bolted up the stairs that lay past the living room and down the upstairs hallway to the last door on the left. What laid behind the door sent a chill through me, bringing tears to my eyes.

"Aliza?" I said in shock, my voice becoming a squeak.

The little girl around the age of twelve that was staring back at me resembled a younger version of myself. A wide smile spread across her small, finely-featured face.

"Lily!" she exclaimed.

In the few seconds it took me to cross the distance between us, she was in my arms laughing happily. I ran my hand through her long, brown hair absorbing every second of radiance when I was near her. Tears started to form in my eyes, tears of joy.

"I missed you so much," I said.

"Why? It's only been a couple weeks, right?" Aliza asked innocently as I put her down.

I went to think back, to count up the weeks since I had seen her last, only to find I could not remember.

"Lily?"

"I'm fine, I just didn't realize how short it had been, I missed you so much, I worried about you."

"You didn't have to, I'm safe with Mom and Dad," she said.

The thought of seeing my parents again brought back the same feeling that I had been missing them for a while, but, again, I could not remember why. In fact, I could not remember anything before walking through my house.

A gold tint seemed to be radiating from the house, making everything a warm color. Aliza and I walked hand-in-hand down the stairs and out to the wrap-around porch outside the house. I could see across the yard our five-stall barn that cast its shadow over the house. Even outside everything seemed to be bathed in the gold light, but the source -I could see- was the sun setting at the far horizon lined with trees. Sitting down on the suspended porch swing Aliza moved next to me, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" I asked her , not seeing my parents around the farm.

"They went into town, they should be back soon," Aliza said resting her head on my shoulder.

"Wanna take Catalyst and Terra out?"

I smiled for what felt like the first time in a long space I couldn't remember.

"Of course," I replied.

We raced across the barnyard to the barn where I grabbed my beautiful, black Arabian mare while Aliza grabbed her dark bay Trakehner mare. My sister was the first to finish tacking up because of her mare's compliance to the bit and the lack with mine. When I finally managed to get Catalyst to take the bit we mounted and headed over the small, grassy hill behind the barn. I could tell Catalyst wanted to extend, which was all the more reason to hold her back to stay with Aliza. The black mare was still a little green, however I could tell she would end up being a solid horse later.

"Wanna race?" Aliza said trotting Terra up next to me.

"Sure," I laughed. "One...two...three!"

On three I sat deep in my English saddle, squeezing my legs against Catalyst's sides. She sprung forward in an extended canter already anticipating my actions and wanting to go faster anyway. Even as the strong Arab picked up speed I could still hear Terra on our flank. I couldn't deny that my sister was a very good rider, something she had worked very hard for. Our horses then went nose-to-nose, stretching their noses out like trained Thoroughbreds to gain a lead. We made it to the top of the hill with Catalyst in the lead, I patted her on the neck, pulling the mare back. Aliza was laughing gleefully beside me also praising her horse.

"That was fun!" she exclaimed.

"Mhm," I agreed, but my focus was on the beautiful landscape below the hill.

For miles the treetops were coated in an orange-pink hue, the tops glinting in the waning sunlight like a thousand gold pieces. The temperature still remained mild, I could not feel a wind, yet the trees below rustled their leaves as if touched by a breeze. A lone eagle soared high in the sky above our heads.

"I'd almost forgotten how beautiful it is up here," I said.

The sun was starting to disappear, Aliza sat beside to me on Terra, when my sister decided to drop a bomb on the perfect moment.

"You have to go back," she stated simply, her eyes fixed ahead of us.

I looked over to see if she would reveal anything, but her eyes never made contact with mine.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Larrissa, really think about this, you know what happened to me, you know I'm dead," Aliza said.

A chill ran through me when I registered her words that hollowed me out inside.

"No," I said in denial.

"Lil, you know what happened to Mom, Dad, and me. You know what happened in Britain, you know all of that is real, this...this _isn't_. You have to go back, you have to wake up," Aliza said looking at me now, her sparkling, blue eyes fixed on mine.

"What?" I managed in a near whisper.

At that time the memories that had once been veiled from me exploded in my head all at once. My family _had_ been killed, all three of them, by the infected, an outbreak had started again in the safe zone. I and a few others had escaped, one them being Doyle, Doyle who had gotten out of the car to save us from the body-burners. I hadn't let him do it though, I had jumped out of the car after him and the last thing I could remember was being bitten by one of the infected.

"You're asleep and if you don't wake up soon you won't wake up at all. You can still make a difference,"Aliza said after she saw me trying to think.

"How?"

"You'll have to see for yourself, but you will," my sister said with maturity that far surpassed her age.

I didn't want to admit to her that I probably had nothing to live for anymore if I went back. I had no idea what state the world would be in or how long I had been asleep. I didn't even know if I would have my sanity and, above all things, if I would even be human anymore. For the first time since I'd seen her here, I cast my eyes away from my sister, tears sliding away from my eyes.

"I'll go," I said softly. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry, I never should have let you guys go to England without me."

"How is that your fault? Lily, one thing I want you to do for me when you get back is to stop blaming yourself for everything."

I smiled, "Okay, and, Liza?"

"Yeah?"

"Know that I love you very, very much and I wish that I could have spent more time with you," I said holding back a quiver in my voice.

"I love you too."

After I heard those words I shifted my thoughts to trying to wake myself up, which proved to be a harder task than I expected. Eventually darkness engulfed me and my mind became filled with more peaceful thoughts.

I was able to open my eyes slowly, my vision remaining blurry and unfocused. My head throbbed as if I'd just woken from a nap that had been too long, one that did more harm to exhaustion than good. My hearing was horrible, but I could make out a few sounds that I barely recognized of those consistent with a hospital. When my eyes finally focused I could see that I was, in fact, in a hospital bed with machines surrounding me. I could feel dried trails from tears snaking down my face that felt tight when I blinked, what I had imagined hadn't been just my imagination it had to have been something more. I looked around carefully, for I still had no clue where exactly I was yet I didn't want to speak to anyone, not now. My mind was still trying to sort out what I could last remember about my life, even though the talk with my sister jarred most of it, I could barely remember the details of what happened before I woke up. There were two possibilities running through my mind, either Scarlett, the kids, and Doyle got away or they were all dead, I didn't want to think about the latter. Listening for a few minutes I caught mentions of "the virus" in the hallways outside, but they were hushed whispers barely audible. Now I knew things weren't any different, no one had found a cure yet and my guess was there were still a good number of infected running around.

A few minutes later a slender, tall man in a white doctor's coat walked into the room with a gentle smile on his face. He had bright, green eyes and his short cut, dirty-blond hair was parted down the side without any visible strand out of place.

"Welcome back, Miss Caine," he said, his voice having a slightly British accent. "It's good to see you're awake."

"Thanks," I said a little unsure how to respond.

"I'm Lieutenant Christopher Redding, I'm a doctor here at the military hospital, I've been caring for you ever since you were brought in," he said obviously trying to make things less odd between us.

"Exactly how long have I been here?" I asked.

"Two weeks, you were in a coma for that long, but you came out of it two days ago," he replied.

I hadn't expected the time I was under to have been so long, a few days, yes, but a few _weeks_, it really hadn't seemed that long. Then the worst memory I had came back into my mind, making my eyes widen as I looked up at the doctor.

"Did they run any tests on me?" I asked.

"Of course they did, you came in from an infected zone. Don't worry, you're fine, there's absolutely nothing seriously wrong with you," he said.

"Where are we, what country?" I asked.

"The United States, welcome home Miss Caine," the doctor replied.

Under a portion of the white lab coat that had fallen off his shoulder I saw the Delta company symbol on his uniform.

"Where did they find me?" I asked.

"Actually, I found you, Miss Caine, my team was following up the burners and I saw you on the ground next to a group of dead infected. I saw that you were alive, I could tell you were not one of them either, I managed to convince them to let me save you. I was curious how someone could be in that zone around other infected and not be infected themselves."

I already had an answer to his curiosity, but I wasn't about to let anyone know about it, not until I knew I could trust him.

"How did you convince them with the virus outbreaking again?"

"When your family provides important funding for the response teams you can pull a few strings," he replied.

I smiled at his comment, knowing the importance of money in times like these.

"You were originally treated for a gunshot wound, you were lucky, whoever shot at you missed," he said preparing to leave.

"He never missed, his heart just wasn't in it," I mumbled, knowing the only probability to explain the bullet wound.

I sat, a few hours later, on the edge of the hospital bed deep in thought. The first thing I had done when the doctor had left was look in a mirror, my eyes remained their normal light blue, _both_ of them. I knew I had been bitten by one of the infected right before I passed out, but everything so far pointed away from that. I wasn't running around on a rampage trying to kill anyone, my eyes were the same color, and I wasn't dead. No matter how hard I tried to pull my mind away from my last memories before being bitten, my mind kept grasping on to Doyle. I desperately needed to know what happened to him and the others without it I might go crazy. Nurses came in at equal lapses in time and made sure I was still okay, or so I assumed, they checked on me then left. The rest of the day I never saw the lieutenant from Delta, who might be able to tell me the one thing that was driving me over the edge. I laid back down on the bed late in the night, closing my eyes and finally being able to think about sleeping without imminent danger surrounding me.

When I woke later that morning, which I could tell by the position of the sun through the window by my bedside, I felt much stronger than the day before. I ate the food that had been left on a table next to the bed, still contemplating my current situation. Short of a miracle, there was no medical explanation to why I wasn't infected and why people weren't using me as a lab rat because of such. If I was immune it would be my blood being drawn to try to create a cure, but it wasn't. Then it occurred to me that it could be possible they didn't know I'd been bitten in the first place, which ruled out the "I'm a carrier" theory running through my head, with this in mind I resolved not to tell anyone about my current theories. Being fully immune was like nothing I'd ever crossed before when I was working to find a cure and it had never crossed my mind to test my own blood against the virus. Once this notion reached my mind I immediately felt "survivor's guilt," or some twisted form of it, I couldn't believe I'd never thought of doing that first, especially after we had admitted the children's mother and found that partial-immunity to the virus was possible. We could have been working on a cure from my blood so long ago, we could have saved so many people and maybe even stopped the second outbreak. Finally, something deep inside of me screamed to the surface for this to cease, I couldn't blame myself for something I had no knowledge of. But what I could do was take what I knew now and work to end this, which would be hard; I needed to stay out of the military's and everyone else's eyes or I _would_ become a lab rat. I had to be careful.

Toward noon that day I finally saw Dr. Redding again, but decided to address a less serious question than I had previously considered. I watched him check the clipboard in his hands before he looked at me and then once again back to the clipboard.

"I feel bad for not asking before, but, what state are we in now?" I asked him.

"Well, Europe is completely unsafe. The infected from the outbreak at District One, the Safe Zone in Britain, reached Paris and it all went downhill from there. Asia managed to keep out any infected until they had their boarders sealed just as securely as ours, but we figured they are much less safe than we are. At least we have some ocean between us and, so far as we know, the infected can't swim too well,"

Redding said with a hint of humor.

I considered his words, not at all shocked about how fast things had turned to the worst. I knew that, soon, I would have to ask about Doyle and the others, I was too curious. I made small talk with him as he checked on whatever it was he had come to see me for, he never made it known to me.

"So, when can I be cleared and start working on beating this again?" I asked.

"Soon, I promise," he said with an amused smile.

He left the room for a few minutes and when he came back I decided I'd avoided the inevitable for too long.

"You're Delta, correct?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you know Sergeant William Doyle?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Yes, I did, quite well actually," he asked with confusion in his voice.

I looked out of the window, taking a deep breath, before I could continue.

"Do you know what happened to him? I was with him and another, a Medical Officer named Scarlett, and two kids. We escaped District One together at the time of the outbreak, Scarlett and I were working to find a cure and we managed to get out with the others...we were being chased by infected right before you found me. That's when I lost track of them, when I passed out I mean, and I haven't heard of or seen them since."

The doctor's expression completely changed, he cast his eyes away from me and motioned for me to sit.

"I really shouldn't tell you," he said.

"If you tell me what happened to my friends, I will tell you what really happened to me before you found me," I said figuring if he told me what happened to them I could trust him enough.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, Redding taking a seat next to me. I suspected the worse, by the way he was acting, something I didn't want to believe, but had to accept.

"My small medical team always follows the burners after they clear the infected zones to make sure it's safe for the sanitation teams to come in. After the burners made their rounds, well, that's when I found you..."

"Was there a car there? Scarlett and the two kids were in a car, Doyle got out to try to push-start it, I followed him," I said.

"I don't know about the woman and the kids, but there wasn't a car anywhere near you."

"And Doyle?"

He cast his eyes down to the floor, "I tried to stop them, but they were ordered to burn everything in that area. Anything that moved was assumed to be one of the infected...I..."

Suddenly what he was hinting at added up in my head and my heart dropped when I realized this.

"Oh my God...they...they burned him," I muttered in shock and pain.

"I am so sorry, I tried to stop them, but they didn't hear me," I could hear the true regret in his voice.

"It wasn't your fault," I said trying to keep my composure, which wasn't working too well.

"Will you be alright?" he asked.

"Yes," I lied.

Once the doctor took his leave I collapsed on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone I'd ever cared about ended up dead way before their time, I felt as if I ever got close to anyone again it would end up the same. I had been preparing myself for the worst news when I'd asked, but it hadn't really done much, the news struck me like a lightning bolt of reality. I had no one.

When I was finally able to stop crying my face was hot and my eyes were swollen. I walked into the small bathroom at the end of my room, washing my face with cool water in an attempt to take my mind off things. I wanted to think of anything else right now, anything besides what I had been told recently. I had no clue what I was going to do now and that scared me. Until now my life had always had purpose; finding a cure, that is what I was driven by, protecting people. Now the people who I was trying to protect, who had also be protecting me, they were all dead. I looked at my reflection in the water filling the sink, a healing cut above my eyebrow was the only evidence left from the fight to escape. I could see, even in the shaky picture, my eyes were red and puffy, something that made them appear more sapphire-colored than light blue. What had I become? Lost, yes, but not completely without purpose as I had concluded earlier. I realized I had to fight to defend the rest of humanity from falling victim to the one thing that had destroyed me inside, I had to keep fighting the virus, I _had_ to find a cure.

**Told you chapt 8 wasn't the end }) hope you liked my little continuation, I just couldn't let go of this fanfic just yet. Although I will admit how my OC was rescued is a little weak, (don't...don't question it XD) it was all I could think of at the moment. Anyway chapter 10 is almost done because I am so very smart * sarcasm * for not uploading this chapter when it was done a month ago XP**


	10. Just A Little Late

**Holy crap, guys, I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I haven't posted in _FOREVER_, school was killer but thank God its over for now! One of the first things I did was finish this chapter, so here it is, hope you don't hate me for making you wait so long XD**

_**Chapter 10- Just A Little Late**_

As promised, the next day Dr. Redding checked up on me and I started to tell him the truth about what had really happened before he found me lying in the road. I told him much more though, starting from the outbreak in the Safe Zone, why it had happened in the first place, continuing through our attempted escape from London. I included every detail, summed up every important conversation that I could remember, after all, this man saved my life and I felt I owed him that much. He never asked any questioned, I could tell he was really listening to my words, especially when I got to the infected biting the hell out of my ankle. When I finished he looked puzzled at the fact he was even in the same room with me and not being killed. Then I learned it was all a front.

"I knew you were immune, Miss Caine," he said.

"What?" I replied even more confused than he had looked.

"I knew the second I saw you lying next to the infected, that's why I wanted to save you besides the fact it was the right thing to do. I put up the gunshot wound lie to the others so they would even consider taking you back."

_Doyle never shot me, then,_ I thought as he said this.

"Then why did you let me tell you all of that? Why did you act as if you didn't know I could be carrying the virus in the first place?" I asked.

"I wanted you to tell me yourself, to feel I was worthy of your trust to know something so vital to your safety," he replied.

"What's going to happen to me now?" I asked. "Now that you admit you know this?"

"Nothing, its between you and me, no one else."

I looked at him with a small smile, seeing in his eyes he was telling the truth. I thought since now that I was on the mend I would be court martialed for my actions in Britain, for deserting, but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

I spent the rest of the day theorizing with Redding, who provided me with normal clothes so I could walk the hospital with him. He told me it was about time I start getting out of that room anyway, that I still needed to stay here for a few more days at least so he could make sure the virus didn't develop in me. We threw countless theories at one another of which none were able to withstand deep reasoning. As we walked through the cold, white hospital I heard even more whisperings about the virus than I had outside my room. Many nurses were the carriers of these whispers, but also the ones assuring the sick and wounded that the virus was not much of a threat in the U.S. I knew this to be true because of Redding's words and I also knew that right now everything may seem okay but it couldn't last. Suddenly, my mind flashed back to Britain when I had thought near the same thing, but I was standing still in the polished hallway.

"Larrissa?" I heard Redding say, but he sounded so far away.

I quickly broke out of the bonds of my mind, shaking my head as if shaking away the thought.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking."

"Okay," he said, but in his voice I could here his skepticism.

We continued to walk through the hospital, every minute making me feel better that I wasn't stuck in the small room.

Just as I thought there was no possible explanation for my immunity, Scarlett's words and one of the most basic facts dealing with genetics hit me. Then, logical reason kicked in and made me think out my idea, developing my way of approaching Redding with this completely radical thought.

"It's happened before," I stated.

Redding stopped ahead of me and turned around.

"I'm sorry, what's happened when?" he asked.

"The virus, they never knew where it came from before those monkeys in that lab, right?"

"...Right," he answered in confusion.

"What if the virus happened before, before as in before it would have been written down in any history. It could have happened multiple times before genetics were affected and a full immunity to the virus emerged. That's the only probable explanation for how strong my immunity is. Traits can skip generations, which could explain why my parents did have it, and variation could explain why my sister didn't have it either. I know its a long shot for an explanation, but its about the only thing I haven't considered yet," I said.

"Your statement is sound, Larrissa, it's a probability," Redding said. "After all, you did study the virus before me."

"We weren't even close..." I said trailing off.

"Hey, its not your fault." he said, "It's getting late, you should probably get some rest, we can start working on this problem tomorrow, alright?"

I nodded, turning back toward my room, feeling exhausted even though I had no reason to be. Something told me that my continued exhaustion was somehow related to my possible immunity to the virus or my extended stay in a coma, I hoped it was the latter. As I took a shower scenes of the chaos in Britain flashed in front of my eyes making me feel dizzy enough to have to stand still under the water and let them pass. It effected me, though, once again making me think of all the things that went wrong before I stopped myself with the thought that there was nothing I could have done. I didn't even believe my own lie, for that is what I took it as, a _lie_. There was so much we could have done if only we had warned base sooner, let the General kill that woman. I stopped myself again, screaming inside to stop putting blame where it didn't belong. I stepped out of the shower, dried my hair, and put on a pair of sweatpants and a soft, black V-neck top that had been brought to me earlier. I laid in the bed, that somehow got made-up while I was out with Redding, and stared at the ceiling with my arms behind my head. I couldn't let things in the past overwhelm me like this, I couldn't afford the stress right now. I slowly started to drift into an untroubled sleep, something that I needed.

_The sun was setting over the expanse of asphalt, the jets, military vehicles, and soldiers alike bathed in its dying rays. I sat on the bed inside one of the empty barracks looking out the window as he sat beside me._

"_Thinking about tomorrow?" he asked softly._

"_Yeah," I replied._

"_You don't have to leave," he said moving closer to me, putting his arm around my torso._

"_Yes, I do, orders are orders," I said finally turning my head to look him in the eyes._

_I leaned back, resting my weight on him, the back of my head lying on his shoulder. I didn't want to leave this, leave him. I knew what danger awaited me and I knew I might not come back, he knew it too. We had been arguing all day, but it had gotten old after I thought he had finally accepted he couldn't change things. I sat there in his arms, never wanting to leave his protection and knowing I had to was the worst part. I shut my eyes tightly, fighting off tears and my thoughts at the same time._

"_Lily?" he spoke softly once more._

"_Hmm?" was my only reply, for if I spoke I feared I might cry._

"_Iraq, that's a dangerous place."_

"_So?" I managed._

"_I might not see you again, can you at least look at me?" he asked._

_I sat up, placing myself across from him a few inches. He placed a hand on my cheek, sliding it down to the base of my neck. Without hesitation I leaned toward him, letting my lips meet his. In seconds the __worries I had melted away. He ran his hand through my long hair without getting it tangled in my locks, though I hadn't brushed it in at least a day. When our lips finally pulled apart the sun had set, leaving everything I'd seen before in darkness. I brought my eyes back into the room to find him lying down in the bed, his shirt pulled off and thrown across the room. I wasn't about to go any further than that tonight and he had realized that early on, so, for now, it stopped at the shirt. I laid down at an angle, my head resting on his chest and my body stretched diagonally across the bed. He played his fingers through strands of my hair, pulling it out of my face for me. I ran my hands over his bare chest, though my mind was somewhere else, somewhere I didn't want it to be. Then I pulled it back to where I wanted it, here and now. The steady rise and fall of his chest under my head was becoming hypnotic, slowly making me relax and breathe myself. _

"_Why does it all have to end?" I sighed._

"_Nothing's ending, its not like there's an impending apocalypse or anything, it's just a month or two," he replied sarcastically._

"_Yeah, but what if I don't come back, ever, what if we never see each other again?"_

"_To your first question, you will, you're strong, Lily, stronger than any other person I've met, and we _will _see each other again, I promise."_

_We laid together in silence once more, until moments later I broke the silence._

"_Doyle, do you love me?" I asked him._

_The silent kiss on my forehead was hardly enough in reply._

I woke from the memory, from so many years ago, with tears in my eyes. I longed for his touch, his words, for the way he made me calm when I was worried. The actuality before me was different from my hopes, I would never feel that way again and it was enough to bring on those tears. I sat up in the bed, wiping the tears from my face with the edge of my shirt, breathing deeply to try and calm down. Finally, I got up and crossed to room to draw the curtains back so I could let some light into the room no matter how small. When I saw outside I could see it was only a few hours after sunrise and few people were meandering in the hospital's courtyard. I sat on the padded bench under the widow that allowed me to look out of it. It was so peaceful here that it seemed as if what was going on outside wasn't really happening, as if it all was a horrible, long-lasting nightmare. I drew my knees up to my chest my back resting against the wall's extremity by the window. I paced my chin in between my kneecaps letting a horrible wave of grief wash over me once more, I couldn't deny it because I knew doing that would only make the feeling worse. It unnerved me how well I had taken the news before ,and when I had, I knew that couldn't last, that eventually my feelings would get the better of me. I just didn't know how much, I was learning that now.

I sat in my room for much of the dreary day, one that was so far matching my emotions. The gray skies dampened my thoughts and crushed any hopes of even one happy thought. Redding was busy with his patients other than myself today, which just added on to my need for isolation. I managed to speak with the doctor briefly between his patient tending.

"I think I need to get out, can I go sit in the courtyard or something, please, I need to see something else besides these white walls and I need to smell something more natural than disinfectant," I said with a smile.

He laughed at my weak joke, "Okay, okay, fine, you are certainly well enough to go outside, but don't go any further than the courtyard, and please come back in if it starts raining."

"Thank you so much," I said trying to show my gratitude through a simple smile.

I went back into my room as Redding informed the nurses I was allowed outside, I once again replaced the hospital gown with the regular clothes Redding had given me. When I came out of my room Redding was gone, off to another patient I assumed, I walked down the hallway to the courtyard door and I noticed an armed guard standing right beside the door. He was armed with a simple handgun, though I knew the reason he was there would require much more fire power than that simple gun could hope to provide. My depth perception must have still been severely off because as I turned for the door I ran right into the guard, immediately throwing out many apologies before he told me it was quite alright and opened the door for me. I thanked him and exited the hospital's interior, already preferring the sounds of nature to the sounds of the sick and injured. Even though it was gloomy outside, the mere air that the outdoors was surrounded with lifted my spirits exponentially, but only for a second. I talked with a few of the other patients who were allowed outside by themselves or with the supervision of a nurse. I knew that my need for isolation was not what I really needed and was only what I felt like I needed, something the exact opposite, however, the heaviness of my heart would not allow me to stay in a positive mood for long. I eventually made my way to and sat down on a simple, wooden bench as far away from the others as I could get. My eyes filled again with tears I couldn't stop when I remembered my dream -or could it be considered a nightmare?- from last night. My feelings of missing everything I once held dear were only driven deeper into helplessness at the resemblance of this courtyard to the one in which I had enjoyed an escape in District One so long ago. The memories once again flooded back into my mind and was thrown once again into uncontrollable sobs and tidal waves of tears. My emotions soon dulled everything around me, I could not hear the gentle sounds that I had first enjoyed upon entering the courtyard, I could not smell the refreshing scent of the freshly cut shrubbery, and no longer could I organize my thoughts rationally, which was the biggest threat to me. Knowing I had little time before the guard realized I was the one he wanted to find, after having to go through all others he had encountered shortly before my appearance, I took out the gun I stolen from him and laid it in my lap. I was facing away from the hospital walls to the fourth side of the courtyard that was separated from a parking lot by a small, metal fence, so the gun was concealed from any possible, unwanted onlookers. The memory from my time at base camp was what had pushed me over the edge, it was what had, quite literally, been the trigger that made me even think of such an action. Had I been thinking rationally, even wallowing as deep in my self-pity as I was, I would have thought an idea like this to be beyond consideration, a self-centered act of a childish level. After all, I was probably the only person in the world with full immunity to the virus, even so the only person that could help fast enough before far more damage ensued. However, something had broken in me quite recently and I was robbed of all rational thought I was ever capable of, thus the handgun. I put my hand on the gun, ready to pick it up, but stalling, hoping someone would see me and prevent me from doing it and also not wanting them to stop me at the same time. The contradiction in my irrational thoughts remained as I picked up the gun, ready to preform the final act.

I held on to the gun even when I felt a presence behind the bench that was unmistakably a person standing there, they would be able to see what I was holding anyway. I did not look up, I did not move the gun down, nor did I plan to.

"I told Doctor Redding I was fine, I don't need supervision," I said irritably, knowing it was probably one of the medical personnel from the hospital.

"'Fine' constitutes that you are also mentally stable, Lily, put the gun _down._"

In a split second, my entire being felt like it had exploded into nothing and I dropped the gun in utter shock. Every emotion I could ever describe would have been an enormous understatement at that single moment of hearing that voice. Confusion, joy, shock, all three were amplified and collided like three giant trains inside my head in the matter of a second. I turned around, feeling as if it were in extreme slow-motion and flung myself off the bench into his arms.

"Will!" I exclaimed at the same time in a breathless whisper, burying my face into his shirt as tears of joy overtook those of sadness.

I felt his comforting arms close around me as I stood there, hardly able to breathe because the sobbing had started again, but this time it was sobbing of sheer bliss. Quite suddenly, rain tore from the sky in pouring torrents, but I could not have cared less. He picked me up a few inches off the ground as our embrace became all the stronger, I believed in that moment I would never let go of him again. With my arms linked behind his neck and his arms around the small of my back we shared a kiss I also never wanted to end. When our kiss finally ended, he wiped my wet hair from around my face and I rested my head on his shoulder with his arms still around me and mine still around him. We stood there, rain pelting us from above, neither wanting to let go of the other for fear they might slip away and neither speaking. I wanted this moment to never end, to hold onto these feelings I was having forever, never wanting to feel anything less ever again. Then a mental brick wall hit me, making me pull to the end of his arms so I could see him, yet still holding onto him.

"This...this isn't real," I gasped through the emotion-caused spasms still wracking through my body. "You're not real because this is _impossible_. I'm dreaming- I'm- it can't be real- it _can't_."

I wanted to believe I was wrong, that this was real, but I just couldn't.

"Lily, it _is_, I'm here," he assured me. "I'm _real_."

"No," I said shaking my head. "They- they told me- no, it can't be. Oh, my God, I've done it already, I pulled the trigger and now- now I'm fantasizing...it's too late."

"Lily! You didn't kill yourself because you saw me, stop denying it, I'm here, I'm here," he repeated, pulling me back closer. "I wasn't too late, I was just in time."

A giant lightning strike blazed overhead, followed by a crack of thunder, shaking the ground upon which we stood. I felt extremely faint, again a mental brick wall slamming into me, but this time with the opposite effect.

"Oh...God...this, this _is_ real..you're...you're..." I muttered in a whisper, my mind scrambled into a trillion pieces.

Before I could entirely understand what was going on I fell limp in his arms, passing out at the revelation.

**Hahaha, got you all who thought if I had the choice I would actually kill off any character played by Jeremy Renner, that's a funny, you guys ^.^ Its my fanfic, I know I can do whatever I want, including completely negating whatever idiot that decided Doyle should die. Hope none of u wanted to kill * me * when you thought I had let him die, but I know you probably did XD Anyway, hope it was worth the wait (again, probably not cause I rly shouldn't have taken that long, again, so so so so so sorry) hopefully I can whip up another chapter soon, but to be honest this was the chapter/scene I was focused on getting to since I started the fanfic, I have put a little thought into what happens next, but I'll need to elaborate my ideas and organize plot points that will make the next chapter. Thanks for reading :)**

**btw...if you were wondering...yes, the chapter name did in fact come from the song "You Found Me" by The Fray, which was the inspiration for the reuniting scene, and because it is one of my favorite, if not my single favorite, song :P**


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